Wankel engine

American  

noun

1. an internal-combustion rotary engine that utilizes a triangular rotor that revolves in a chamber (rather than a conventional piston that moves up and down in a cylinder): it has fewer moving parts and is generally smaller and lighter for a given horsepower.

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Wankel engine British  

/ ˈwæŋkəl /

noun

1. a type of four-stroke internal-combustion engine without reciprocating parts. It consists of one or more approximately elliptical combustion chambers within which a curved triangular-shaped piston rotates, by the explosion of compressed gas, dividing the combustion chamber into three gastight sections

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Etymology

Origin of Wankel engine

Named after F. Wankel

Example Sentences

A mechanical wizard named Felix Wankel invented it in 1954, but it took NSU 13 years of tinkering to bring the "Wankel engine" to its present stage.

From Time Magazine Archive

Notable among them: Opel's completely restyled fastback Kadett, which borrows some of its lines from the Ford Mustang, and NSU's Spider, the only car in the world powered by the Wankel engine.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Jarvik 2000, by contrast, has a tiny rotary pump--sort of a coronary Wankel engine that spins rather than squeezes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Even though Mazda's rotary Wankel engine was initially dirtier than the conventional reciprocating engine, the Japanese firm managed to control its emissions by installing a thermal reactor that burns the noxious gases.

From Time Magazine Archive

The notable results include the RX-7 sports car, which gets about 24 m.p.g. from its improved Wankel engine, and the GLC.

From Time Magazine Archive