High Performance Rotary Beetle

[Marc]

A year or two ago I mentioned that the rotary engine, being relatively small, light and powerful, could potentially breathe new life into the no longer produced Beetle. Call me a dreamer, in my mind's eye I even envisioned a partnership between Volkswagen and Mazda although I knew that was unlikely because politics and corporate inertia usually trump good ideas. Strangely, it now appears that a few individuals not only came up with exactly the same idea at almost exactly the same time as me, they actually invested the time and money needed to make working models. I was thinking more along the lines of using the nonturbocharged 12A engine, but someone actually squeezed in a far more powerful turbocharged 13B. This video is darn interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO2dpG96-2g

[Ken]

In theory the Wankel engine had a lot going for it. It was quiet, had
few moving parts and was capable of high revs whilst, at the same time
being very smooth with a reasonable power output.

On the downside the fuel/oil mix it ran on resulted in polluted exhaust
gasses - very unacceptable in this day and age. Fuel economy was not
very good and the engine, although simple, required more frequent
maintenance than its normally configured counterpart. Initially, at least,
the rotor seals were a significant wear area. The engine also ran very
hot and heat dissipation, especially when the engine was mounted in
a motorcycle, was a considerable, although not insurmountable, problem.

That being said, I think that for 'one-offs' and 'specials' where engineering
skills and innovation are used in order overcome inherent problems enabling
the build of something different from the norm, there is a place for the rotary
as evidenced in Jay Leno's video.

Ken.