Engineers at Mazda and various aerospace startups are reviving the Wankel rotary engine, repurposing the long-dormant technology as a compact range extender for electric vehicles and heavy-duty drones. This resurgence, occurring throughout 2024, marks a strategic pivot in automotive engineering, as manufacturers seek to mitigate the limitations of battery-only powertrains by pairing them with ultra-efficient,…
The Return of the Rotary Engine Engineers at major automotive firms and aerospace startups are reviving the Wankel rotary engine this year, positioning the compact, high-revving power plant as a critical range-extender for electric vehicles and heavy-lift drones. As the global transition to electrification faces infrastructure hurdles, manufacturers in Japan and the United States are…
Automotive engineers are revisiting the rotary engine, a design long sidelined by efficiency concerns, as a critical bridge technology for the hybrid and drone sectors. Companies like Mazda and various aerospace startups are deploying modern iterations of the Wankel engine to serve as range extenders, proving that internal combustion still holds a vital role in…
