The rotary engine was an unconventional design that delivered great power for its size. Here's what's good and bad about it.

Most car enthusiasts associate the term “rotary engine” with Felix Wankel’s invention, developed in the 1950s and most commonly associated with Mazda. However, more than half a century before the ...

A Wankel engine is a type of rotary engine, but not all rotary engines are Wankel engines. Wrapping your mind around this idea will help you to better understand the similarities as well as the ...

The inline configuration is arguably the most common automotive engine design for plenty of reasons, including simplicity and the low cost of producing these motors. We also have plants with the ...

The rotary engine, with its egg-like block and triangular rotor, is an oddball even among all the other oddball engine designs—sorry, three-cylinder, twin-turbo, camless Koenigsegg, ya basic. That ...

Chris Bruce has worked in the automotive industry since 2011 and has written thousands of stories about cars, motorsports, and motorcycles in that time. He has written for Autoblog, Autoviva, CarFax, ...

When most people hear the term "rotary engine," they probably think of Mazda first, as rotary engines have been part and parcel of the Japanese automaker's mantra for decades. In fact, Mazda proclaims ...

A report from TopSpeed has us musing about the future of the motorcycle community when it comes to rotary-powered engines – or if there’s even a potential for a resurgence in the cards at all. There ...

Rotary might be a good name for this sort of engine, if the name wasn't already taken. Everything inside the crankcase rotates, but unlike a Wankel-style rotary engine, this design uses a piston with ...

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 ...

If someone tells you they have seen a rotary engine, the chances are that you will immediately think of a Wankel engine, as you might find in some of the more exotic Mazda sports cars. But there is ...