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.
"Impractical" is generous. "Absurd" might be more accurate.
ReplyDeleteFurther absurdity, c. 20 years later:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_W-2000
I always thought it would have made a great chainsaw motor.
ReplyDeleteSickie!
ReplyDelete