Delorean finally gets the engine it should have had all along - 3 rotor Wankel
Filed under: Aftermarket, Sports/GTs, Etc., Tech, Supercars, Mazda
In the late sixties and early seventies, many car companies were enamored with the power density of Wankel rotary engines, including NSU, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors. GM ultimately built at least two mid-engine “Corvette” concepts with Wankels, one with two rotors and the other with four. The four-rotor was eventually replaced by a small block to become the Aerovette. When John Z. Delorean left to create his own car, he envisioned it propelled by a rotary engine as well.
As was the case with every other carmaker save Mazda, the Wankel was ultimately abandoned in favor of a piston engine. But one Delorean owner didn’t forget the original vision. Through the 1980s and 1990s the only rotary-powered car sold in the US market was the Mazda RX-7 although Mazda did offer the engine in other Japanese-market models. One of those was a coupe called the Eunos Cosmo. The Cosmo eventually got a 2.0L three-rotor version of the engine that put out 300hp. One of these was sacrificed to provide a new heart for the Delorean you see here.
There’s more commentary after the jump, and a video, too.
[Source: EliseUSA.com via CarScoop]
Continue reading Delorean finally gets the engine it should have had all along - 3 rotor Wankel
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