, which went on sale in 1978, was probably the most successful rotary-engine-powered car. But it was preceded by a series of rotary-engine
cars
, trucks and even buses, starting with the
4 door
cars
1967 Cosmo Sport. The last year the mazda
rx7
was sold in the United States was 1995, but the
rotary engine
is set to make a comeback in the near future.
The
mazda rx8
, a new car from
Mazda
, has a new, award winning
rotary engine
called the
4 door
cars
RENESIS. Named International Engine of the Year 2003, this naturally aspirated two-rotor engine will produce about 250 horsepower.
Like a piston engine, the
rotary engine
uses the pressure created when a combination of air and fuel is burned. In a piston engine, that pressure is contained in the cylinders
4 door
cars
and forces pistons to move back and forth. The connecting rods and crankshaft convert the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotational motion that can be used to power a car.
In a
rotary engine
, the pressure of combustion is contained in a chamber formed by part of the
4 door
cars
housing and sealed in by one face of the triangular rotor, which is what the engine uses instead of pistons. Anyone can build a sports car. It takes
mazda rx8
to build a sports car that's completely unlike any that has come before - or since. From the revolutionary RENESIS
4 door
cars
rotary engine
to the unheard-of (in a sports car) four-passenger interior to the unique freestyle doors, the
mazda rx8
provides innovation as few other
cars
can. Go ahead, turn the key and activate the throaty-sounding
