Pop the hood on a classic Mazda RX-7 or RX-8 and the engine bay looks oddly empty. That is the charm of the rotary engine: a compact lump of metal that trades pistons and valves for a spinning ...

Rotary engines (also known as Wankel engines and Wankel rotary engines) are quite different from piston or "reciprocating" engines. One of the distinguishing features is that they don't need valves to ...

Race cars aren't often remembered unless they mean something special; usually, it's the team or the driver that holds the ...

Justin Cupler has been a member of the TopSpeed team since 2012. Justin's love for cars started back when he was just five years old, helping his dad work on his 1957 Chevy Bell Air and then his 1966 ...

Antonio is a chemical engineering student pursuing his master's degree in chemical engineering and sustainable processes. Throughout his academic journey, he has gained substantial knowledge in areas ...

Mazda has been building new parts for the original MX-5 Miata for a couple of years and even offers a full restoration service over in Japan. Now it's expanding the parts program to the RX-7, ...

The engine in question was the Wankel rotary, named after German engineer Felix Wankel, who first patented the concept in 1929. Instead of pistons moving back and forth, the rotary engine used a ...

Got a burning question or simply need some advice with problems you’ve encountered while wrenching on your current/future projects? Ask our automotive guru Eric Hsu anything—literally, he’s going to ...

The rotary engine, a unique and unconventional design, has provided Mazda with remarkable advantages in the world of racing.

It rose to prominence in the Mazda RX-7 model line, but the last new car feature one was the Mazda RX-8. Since then, Mazda has been continually developing the technology with the aim of bringing it ...

Over-the-top rotary builds are an enthusiast tradition. Because so few rotary cars have been made, the limits of the engine type haven't been fully exploited by automakers. It's been tuners who have ...