In 1957 Wankel and then German motorcycle and car manufacturer NSU completed a prototype of the DKM type rotary engine which combined a cocoon-shaped housing with a triangular rotor. However the complicated structure of the DKM, saw the trochoid housing itself rotate which made this type of engine impractical for production. A more practical KKM engine with a fixed housing was completed in 1958. NSU officially announced the completion of the Wankel rotary engine in November 1959. From Motorequipmentnews.
Early Wankel history here.
1 comment:
"Impractical" is generous. "Absurd" might be more accurate.
Further absurdity, c. 20 years later:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_W-2000
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