Although
I have been well aware of the existence of the Wankel engines since my
engineering studies, the real first appeal to a RE-engined car came much
much later when the RX-Evolv concept was presented in 1999.
I was absolutely stunned by its styling and impressive packaging, not
really paying too much attention at the powertrain at the time. However,
the RE was what made this amazing packaging possible.
I later followed the evolution of this concept into an RX-8 concept, then
the prototype and finally the production car.
In early 2004, I was looking for a new car with decent performance, good
handling capabilities, and 4 seats.
The RX-8
was high on my shortlist, and I ordered a Standard Power after a short
test drive at the Belgian Mazda HQ. In the meantime, I worked to find
as much info on the car and its engine as I could.
The best source of info at the time was the US-based global RX-8 forum.
I finally also understood how the Wankel engine worked, why there is
a 1/3 ratio between rotor speed and eccentric shaft speed, etc.
I soon realised all the advantages of the Wankel RE over the classic
reciprocating engine that I knew so well. I wanted to learn always more
about the Renesis and the rotary engines in general.
I also decided to get actively involved in this field. I joined the RX8France forum (under the nickname Raspoutine), became technical moderator on there, started to import Hymee products from Australia, and more recently, got actively involved in the racing of a RE-engined sport prototype.
I hope you will find interesting info about the RE engine on this site.
Fabrice
