One of the most entertaining engines I ever wrung out was in a friend’s ‘71 or ‘72 Mazda RX2 coupe. It was a two rotor Wankel rated at a hundred or so horses and had a redline of 6,500 and when the tach hit that mark, a loud buzzer would go off telling the driver to back off. My friend told me to ignore it and just drive it so I did. In the first three of four gears, I would that sucker to over 8,500 and it would produce a kick-ass boost right after the redline all the way past eight grand. I had a ‘71 BMW 2002 that was slightly warmed up and would take her to seven grand but the Wankel was like a little motor from another planet.
The Wankel was ahead of its time. The rotor seals wore out quickly and gave it a bad name. Maybe this time Mazda will get it right............................