The Wankel is an amazingly brilliant design concept that produces a very power dense propulsion system. Every full rotation of the eccentric shaft provides 3 complete ignition cycles per rotor. A four stroke piston engine generates one power cycle for every two rotations per piston.

The week link in the Wankel has always been the apex seals (at the corners of the rotors) and fuel consumption. However, the idea is making something of a come-back now as engineers investigate small rotaries as range extenders for electric vehicles like the Volt.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/news/industry/5-alternative-engine-architectures#slide5

Reshared post from +Colleen Kelly Henry

Wankel.

Not as clumsy or random as a piston engine.

A more elegant design, for a civilized age.

For over three decades they were the guardians of peace and justice in the old garage.

Before the dark times. Before apex seal failures.

They betrayed and murdered your father.

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