Part 1: The rotary engine’s origin story and how Mazda became synonymous with the unique combustion engine. From the June 2010 issue of Modified magazine.

The Wankel rotary engine, most notably used in automobiles by Mazda, has been around since the late 1950’s. The Wankel rotary is an example of a design which makes sense on paper.

Most folks today credit Dr. Felix Wankel with inventing the modern rotary engine in the 1950s (with the DKM and KKM prototypes) that went on to become Mazda's iconic rotary engine.

Felix Wankel, a German engineer who invented the rotary engine, is born on Aug. 13, 1902, in Lahr, Germany. Wankel, a gifted mathematician with a knack for technical drawing, became fascinated ...

Chevy Corvair. At the same time, Felix Wankel, our favorite Nazi nutjob got ready with his first prototype rotary engine, the 21 horsepower DKM 54.

Production of the last rotary engine ceased on 21 June 2012. Despite the rotary not currently being offered in any production models, Mazda is still continuing to develop the engine and new ...

In 1954, Wankel finished designing a rotary piston engine for NSU known as the Drehkolbenmotor (or the DKM). This rotary-valve-controlled 250cc motorcycle engine was based on the company's Lux and ...