Rotary engines (also known as Wankel engines and Wankel rotary engines) are quite different from piston or "reciprocating" engines. One of the distinguishing features is that they don't need valves to ...

In theory, Wankel-style rotary internal combustion engines have many advantages: they ditch the cumbersome crankcase and piston design, replacing it with a simple, single-chamber design and a thick, ...

When Mazda discontinued the RX-8, most people assumed the rotary engine was finished. The RX-8 was the last production car to use Mazda's signature Wankel rotary, and its departure seemed to signal ...

Different sports cars, different powertrains, same enthusiastic spirit—and we can't wait. At Mazda, the desire for a Mazda RX-7 successor is there. The Iconic SP concept is the blueprint, too, and a ...

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 ...

See firsthand how Flis Performance tears apart a four-rotor racing engine to get it ready for the track again.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Lyon is based in Tokyo and writes about the car industry. At the Japan Mobility Show two years ago, Mazda unveiled a ...

Rebuilding a race engine isn’t easy, but Mazda Motorsports has it even tougher with a rebuild of one of the most legendary race car engines ever made. The Mazda 787 was the first Japanese and ...

Mazda continues to hint strongly at a production version of the Iconic SP concept The Iconic SP debuted at the 2023 Tokyo auto show Power comes from electric drive system with rotary engine serving as ...

Wankel rotary engines, typically but not exclusively found in Mazdas, certainly lean on the "quirkier" side of modern powertrain systems, made quirkier because most rotary-powered cars on the road ...