When it comes to rotary engines, Mazda is always indispensable, and when Mazda is mentioned, rotary engines are always indispensable. In order to survive as a company, Mazda once organized efforts to improve the commercial value of the rotary engine. After solving the problem of corporate retention, Mazda often fell into financial crisis due to its research on rotors, and finally had to suspend the rotor plan. The combination of a car company and an engine is almost like a touching love drama.
However, the rotary engine, one of the protagonists of this drama, was not actually invented by Mazda, but by a German named Wankel. Wankel also solved many key technologies on the basis of his predecessors, which enabled the rotary engine to be truly realized.
Once the rotary engine came out, it was favored by major automobile manufacturers because of its simple structure, low price, small size, light weight, smooth operation, easy increase in speed, easy to increase horsepower, etc. The rotary engine was unparalleled at that time. It is different from a "new force". When they don't know which direction the future will develop, many car companies are worried that they will be abandoned by the times, so they have purchased the authorization of the "new force" rotary engine from Wankel's NSU company so that they can get a head start in development. machine. The situation at that time was very similar to how many car companies have set their sights on the field of electric vehicles in recent years.
In the 1960s, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Citroen, Ford, General Motors, Alfa Romeo, Mazda, Suzuki, Toyota and other car companies all turned their attention to rotors. The popularity of the rotor at that time even attracted domestic attention to the rotary engine and the development of the world's only truck equipped with a rotary engine. Therefore, the rotary engine was not unique to Mazda at the time. These authorized car companies have also developed related models equipped with rotary engines. Let's take a look at what different rotary models there are in addition to the frequently seen Mazda RX series.
Mercedes-Benz C111
Mercedes-Benz has always been a technology leader. When rotors first started to receive attention, most car companies were in the stage of developing single-rotor or dual-rotor engines. Mercedes-Benz took an unusual approach and directly researched a three-rotor engine. This rotary engine was also equipped with a direct fuel injection system, which was eventually installed on the C111 model. This three-rotor engine has a displacement of 1.8L, can output a maximum power of 280 horsepower, and can push the C111 to a top speed of 260km/h. The acceleration time from 0 to 100km/h in less than 5 seconds is considered ferocious even now.
However, Mercedes-Benz felt that the rotary engine still had room for improvement, so in the improved model in 1970, the C111 was equipped with a four-rotor engine with a maximum output of 350 horsepower, which shortened the zero-hundred acceleration to 4.8s, and the top speed is as high as 300km/h. All aspects of the C111's performance seemed to be ideal, but its fuel consumption was astonishingly high, so Mercedes-Benz ultimately did not mass-produce this C111 model.
Audi 200
Audi is actually the most direct controller of rotor technology, because NSU merged with Audi after being acquired by Volkswagen in 1969. However, Audi did not start trying to revive the rotor until 1979. The model equipped with a rotary engine at that time was the Audi 200. Because it had missed the golden period of the rotary engine, the Audi 200 did not cause widespread impact.
By 2010, Audi still had hope in the rotor and installed it on the Audi A1 e-tron model. However, this time it did not let the rotary engine directly participate in the drive, but let it Acts as a range extender.
Citroen GS Birotor
Citroen did not take the risk of perfecting the rotor on its own. Instead, it chose to establish a joint venture with NSU to jointly research rotary engines. After all, NSU is a The owner of the rotary engine patent will definitely have a deeper understanding of the rotary engine. Through the efforts of the joint venture, Citro?n finally launched the GS Birotor model and the M35 model.
However, both of these cars were born at the wrong time. Because they overemphasized dynamics and were priced too high, their market recognition was very low. Moreover, the oil crisis broke out at the time, and a major drawback of the rotary engine was fuel consumption. The combination of various factors ultimately led to the cumulative sales of these two models being only more than 1,000 units.
Suzuki RE5
In addition to cars being interested in rotary engines, motorcycles are also very interested in rotors. However, Suzuki RE5 was born in 1975, and at this time it has missed the most popular market for rotors. Scenery time. Moreover, it is quite difficult to apply the rotor to a motorcycle. In order to allow this engine to have good heat dissipation, Suzuki had to equip the motorcycle with a huge radiator. However, this radiator was already so big that it affected riding, so the sales of RE5 also declined. Not optimistic, Suzuki ultimately chose to continue developing traditional reciprocating internal combustion engines.
Seeing the above models, we found that the rotor does not seem to be as perfect as imagined. But its special sound that makes people's blood rush, as well as the sparks ejected from the exhaust during the process, all make car fans fascinated by it. However, feelings are just feelings after all, and the bad luck of the rotor being eliminated cannot be prevented. In the next issue, let’s take a look at what are the fatal flaws of the rotor? As a result, Mazda will also slow down its pace.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.