From NSU Spider to Mazda 787B: The Story of the Wankel Engine
- Candace Watkins
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 28
The Dream of Felix Wankel
When German engineer Felix Wankel first sketched his dream of a piston-less engine, few believed it would ever run. Yet by the 1950s, at NSU Motorenwerke in Neckarsulm, prototypes were alive and humming, compact, smooth, and unlike anything the automotive world had seen. The rotary promised to banish vibration, deliver high revs, and shrink the engine bay. To a generation of postwar engineers, it felt like the future.
The World’s First Rotary Road Cars
That future first took shape in 1964, when NSU released the Spider, a tiny roadster with a single-rotor heart. It was quirky, not without faults, but it proved that Wankel’s dream could carry a car down ordinary roads.
Just three years later, the Ro 80 took the idea upscale. Sleek, aerodynamic, and powered by a twin-rotor engine, it stunned journalists and won European Car of the Year 1968. For a brief moment, it seemed Germany had rewritten the rules of motoring.
Mazda Steps In
Across the world, another company was watching closely. Mazda took the fragile German design and re-engineered it, determined to solve its notorious apex-seal issues. In 1968, they launched the Cosmo Series II, a futuristic coupe that ran smoothly and reliably, proving that Japan could carry the rotary torch further than anyone expected.
French Experiments and Rotary Oddities
Other manufacturers joined the experiment. Citroën, through its Comotor partnership with NSU, unveiled the GS Birotor at the 1973 Frankfurt Motor Show. Its quiet, balanced twin-rotor was a marvel — but it arrived in the middle of an oil crisis, and thirsty engines had suddenly become unwelcome. Only a few hundred were sold before the program collapsed.
Meanwhile, two very different machines took the Wankel engine onto two wheels. In 1974, Germany produced the Hercules W2000, the first production motorcycle powered by a rotary. Simple, unusual, and compact, it looked like no other bike of its time. Over a decade later, Britain’s Norton Commander gave the concept new life in a police and touring motorcycle. Its twin-rotor design offered the kind of smoothness long-distance riders had always craved.
The Rotary’s Greatest Victory
But it was in racing that the Wankel reached its most glorious moment. Mazda spent years refining rotary prototypes, moving from obscurity to the world’s biggest stage. In 1991, the green-and-orange 787B howled around Le Mans for twenty-four hours, its four-rotor R26B engine producing over 700 horsepower. Against all odds, it crossed the finish line first.
To this day, it remains the only non-piston car to win the race, a feat never repeated. The 787B’s piercing exhaust note became legendary, echoing as the rotary’s ultimate triumph.
See the Rotary Legends Up Close at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum
Even if it never went mainstream, the rotary engine remains a symbol of bold innovation. Its distinct sound, smooth feel, and unconventional design continue to capture the imagination of enthusiasts and engineers alike.
The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum's upcoming exhibit will bring together some of the most important rotary-powered vehicles ever built, giving visitors an up-close look at this fascinating chapter of automotive history.
Stay tuned, we’ll announce the official opening date soon. In the meantime, mark your calendars for this fall and prepare to discover the story of “The Wankel Rotary Engine: Innovation That Never Went Mainstream.”
