Far more than just adapting the rotary engine for use as a range extender, Mazda has essentially added variable cam timing to a camless engine. A lot of research was done over the years in attempts to ...

Rotary engines are compact, smooth, and powerful, so why don't more automakers use them? Well, it's complicated. Rotary engines have a lot going for them. They're compact, lightweight, mechanically ...

In a world dominated by pistons, the rotary engine was something different for motorists. It was the vision of German engineer Felix Wankel, built on the belief that the up-and-down motion of pistons ...

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, ...

The Wankel rotary engine offers one of the most unique sounds of any ICE. Most famously used in various legendary Mazdas like the RX-7 and the supposedly banned Le ...

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community. When ...

The piston engine may be the most common type of internal combustion engine found in consumer automotive vehicles. That doesn't mean it's the only option drivers have ever had access to. In the 1960s, ...