rotary engine 

To correct all of those that don't know, the rotary engine is an engine that was thought of by Dr. Felix Wankel when he was 17 and he made the first prototype of this type of engine, but sadly never perfected it (he never got rid of the chatter marks). Once Mazda got a hold of it and started working on it they perfected the engine, getting rid of the chatter marks and adding a second rotor because at low rpms a single rotor became erratic and had torque fluctuations. Also, the rotor is not shaped like a dorito, it's closer to one of those old 3d doritos (if you remember those) because it is an equilateral triangle with exploded sides.

You should do some research before claiming you know about the rotary engine.

rotary engine by snoopay700 February 3, 2007

rotary engine 

Contrary to popular belief, it was not "thought of by Felix Wankel when he was 17". It was developed in the late 1800's before his birth (in 1902).

Used mainly in aircraft, it essentially is a conventional piston-driven internal combustion engine, with the pistons set radially around the center crankshaft. The difference is that the whole engine block rotates around the crankshaft, rather than the pistons turning the crankshaft.
The pistonless rotary engine, as produced by Mazda, was initially designed by Felix Wankel as others describe, yes, but putting his name on all rotary engines is like saying that all watermelons are seedless.

You should do some ACTUAL research before claiming you know about the rotary engine.

rotary engine by Epsilon Rho Tau Omega March 23, 2010

Rotary Engine 

The Balls

Man did you see that? it must be a rotary engine it had the balls!

Rotary Engine by Cleathy November 30, 2009

rotary engine 

A type of internal combustion engine consisting of a triangular rotor which rotates in an eccentric orbital motion around a epitrochoid housing. Advantages of this design are a compact size, mechanical simplicity (a two rotor engine has only three moving parts), high potential power output proportional to size, lightweight, high-revving and extremely smooth in operation. Disadvantages include high rate of fuel and oil consumption, complex sealing arrangement and high seal count, weak torque, more fragile than a four-stroke piston engine, and lower long term reliability. Also known as a Wankel engine (pronounced 'Vonkel') after it's inventor, Dr Felix Wankel.

Mazda's RX-7 is probably the best example of a car employing a rotary engine.

rotary engine by johnnylongprong March 8, 2009

Rotary Engine Face

when you give a serious yet sad look on your face when you disagree with something and shake your head no

yo andy how about that mazda rx 7? *gives rotary engine face*

Rotary Engine Face by Jwords April 26, 2008

Wankel Rotary Engine 

An ingenious engine design which avoids the reciprocal motion of the piston engine and manages to incorporate the suck, squeeze, bang, blow of internal combustion engines into a rotating piston.

Not a torture device of any kind.

The Wankel rotary engine is far more efficient than the latest hybrid cars, but nobody will buy one because it sounds too much like "wanker".

Wankel Rotary Engine by Mr. Cardboard October 30, 2011

Mazda Rotary Engine 

Essentially a portable hand grenade. The apex seals are like pins of a hand grenade attached to a Schrödinger's cat resulting in an engine that it is in 2 states of reality; both working and exploded at the same time.

- Man, did you heard about the RX-9 rumors saying it will come with a mazda rotary engine?
- Yeah, can't wait until it blows up at the mall!

Mazda Rotary Engine by St0RM53 November 25, 2016