The Wankel engine is alive and kicking. Mazda uses the rotary engine as a range extender, while enthusiasts are still tinkering with the special engine. One of those enthusiasts has built a giant Wankel engine with 12 rotors. The block has three banks with four discs each and is about the same size as Chevrolet’s V8.
The builder of the 12-rotor Wankel engine is a fan of speedboats. He came up with the idea for the special engine because he was tired of his eight-cylinder Chevrolet ‘breaking down for fun’. Not that Wankel engines are exactly known for longevity, but if you know how to handle them, they should run pretty well.
The engine is even modular
The cool thing about the motorcycle is that it is a kind of Lego construction kit. Relatively easy (although you don’t do it in the parking lot of the Nürburgring) you can make the engine bigger or smaller. Even the crankshaft can easily be made longer or shorter. Even the timing of the individual discs can be adjusted by taking the crankshaft apart and putting it back together.
In his own video, TopGear correspondent Rob Dahm fails to put the engine in a car and put it to work. Maybe that will come in a next video. There is a video of a dyno test on the builder’s YouTube channel. According to the maker, the engine can run up to 10,000 rpm. Then it produces about 1,400 hp and 1,085 Nm. Jeez.
