Who here when they first found out exactly how a rotary worked did not think to themselves: f**k. That's clever.
I took a look under the hood of my mate's S1 RX7 the other day and realized for the first time just how small they are too! I knew they were small, but this thing took up less than half the engine bay. It was all intercooler (V mount) and body kit up front. Yet this thing still makes over 250rwkw with minor modifications and a conservative boost.
So, reliability and fuel efficiency aside, why aren't there more rotor engines?
I understand the yanks love their big engines, but I'm sure they'll jump on board with a BIG (6-8?) rotor NA engine. I don't know anything about the engines beyond the most basic explanation, but surely if they can make the little 1.3L tri-rotor fit in half the hood of a tiny RX7, surely a Mustang with an engine bay twice the size could house an engine 2-3x as long.
What about AWD. Why hasn't Mazda created a crazy lightweight AWD rotor to compete with the GTR, Evo and STi?
Is it just... a lack of popularity? Technology? What's holding the ol' Wankel engine from really competing?