How does a rotary engine work? Wankel Engines. Explanation of how a rotary engine works. With only 3 moving components, these are an engineering marvel. A look inside at what actually happens.

Rotary engines (also known as Wankel engines and Wankel rotary engines) are quite different from piston or "reciprocating" engines. One of the distinguishing features is that they don't need valves to ...

Mazda 13B rotary engine in a white Mazda RX-7 engine bay. - TTTNIS/Wikimedia Commons When it comes to unconventional engine design, few exceed the Wankel rotary in terms of weirdness. Despite that, ...

Everyone generally knows about piston and rotary engines, with many a flamewar having been waged over the pros and cons of each design. The “correct” answer is thus to combine both into a single ...

In theory, Wankel-style rotary internal combustion engines have many advantages: they ditch the cumbersome crankcase and piston design, replacing it with a simple, single-chamber design and a thick, ...

Mazda’s rotary engine is coming back in the spotlight, but this time it’s not just a nostalgic callback to the RX-7 glory days. Instead, it’s quietly shaping the brand’s electrified future. Rather ...

When Mazda discontinued the RX-8, most people assumed the rotary engine was finished. The RX-8 was the last production car to use Mazda's signature Wankel rotary, and its departure seemed to signal ...

After years of rumors and experimentation behind closed doors, the Mazda rotary engine is officially back. The Vision X-Coupe, a plug-in hybrid concept showcased at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, has ...

Like it or not, the combustion engines that have driven our world forward and sideways for more than a century now are about to leave the scene. Not because they're no longer effective, but because ...

Mazda continues to hint strongly at a production version of the Iconic SP concept The Iconic SP debuted at the 2023 Tokyo auto show Power comes from electric drive system with rotary engine serving as ...

When it comes to unconventional engine design, few exceed the Wankel rotary in terms of weirdness. Despite that, the same basic principles of internal combustion apply here: Fuel and air are mixed and ...