This is one reason to love the Wankel Rotary.
The Wankel rotary has been a popular choice for its small size and powerful engine. It also boasts a great song to sing. The 2011 Mazda RX-8, which bears the final Wankel rotary in production, was poor for fuel economy and emissions.
Although there have been many debates about the revival of the rotary engine since before time began, Warped Perspective‘s most recent video may be your best.
The video shows what may be the world’s smallest rotary engine. It is even smaller than the custom built RC car rotary engines. This is a Toyan RS-S100 Single Rotor Wankel Rotary Engine. It measures 0.14 cubic inches (2.4 cm) and produces 0.7 horsepower (1.55 kilowatts). It is small enough to be dwarfed by the RX-7’s 13B Mazda engine.
Amazingly, the small rotary engine can be brought to life after a few attempts. You can even hear its wonderful sound from its tiny frame. The engine reached speeds of up to 30,000 RPM with a tachometer. The engine ran so hot that the glow plug was melted and the exhaust fell off.
According to YouTuber, the small rotary engine will be used in a future project. You can still get one for $499.99 for one rotor or $699.99 for twin-rotor configurations. This is the same price as for the Mazda RX-7.
If you still want to see the rotary in a production car, reports suggest that the rotary engine will be back in 2023. It will not be used as a range extender or generator in the Mazda MX-30PHEV.