- 10,620
- gtp_jimprower
Well, that was a landslide if I’ve ever seen one.
Champions
1&2 Cyl: Ducati V-Twins
4 Cyl: VW/Porsche Air-cooled B-4 and Mitsubishi/DSM 4G63T I-4
6 Cyl: Porsche Air-cooled B-6
8 Cyl: Chrysler 426 Hemi V-8
10 Cyl: Chrysler “Viper” V-10
12 Cyl: BMW/McLaren S70/2,/3 V-12 and Mercedes-Benz AMG/Pagani 7.3L V-12
14+ Cyl: VAG/Bugatti W-16
Runners-up
1&2 Cyl: Harley-Davidson V-Twin
4 Cyl: Subaru EJ20 B-4
6 Cyl: NISSAN RB-Family I-6
8 Cyl: Ferrari F430 4.3L V-8 and Chevrolet Gen I Smallblock V-8
10 Cyl: Porsche Carrera GT V-10
12 Cyl: TVR 7.7L V-12
14+ Cyl: Rolls Royce Vulture X-24
Now, the Nominees for the Odd number engine class are…
Audi 2.1L "Quattro" I-5
Fiat 2.0L 20V I-5 (Coupe)
Honda RC211V V-5
Mercedes-Benz OM617 I-5
Suzuki G10 1.0L I-3 (Geo Metro)
VAG VR5 V-5 (Rabbit)
Volvo Modular I-5 (S60R/V70R)
Wärtsilä RT-flex60C-B Diesel I-9 (Ships)
And now, the final category, Wankels, Piston Rotaries, Radials
What are they?
Wankels
A Wankel rotary engine uses a triangular rotor instead of pistons. Ti gives great power per displacement, but there are reliability problems, and Wankels tend to be high-maintenance, while being somewhat less fuel efficient.
Piston Rotaries
Typical in aircraft or WWI, this engine’s BLOCK was the rotating member. The crank stayed more or less stationary, and the pistons traveled around with the block. There was low vibration, and high power-to weight ration, but conventional designs soon surpassed this type.
Radials
The radial engine is another typically aircraft engine, but this had a standard rotating crank with stationary block. These are typically one row, but later aircraft used up to two rows, and the USSR had a 7-row, 42 cyl. Marine radial engine. These were superseded in fighters by Vee- type engines, but were used in large aircraft until Jet engines came about.
There are other, experimental pistonless Rotaries out there, few of them have made it to production, but if you feel like nominating one, be my guest.
I get the easy one.
MAZDA 13B 2-ROTOR WANKEL ROTARY
Nominations Criteria
Current Nominees
GM "XP882" Wankel Rotor-4 (Corvette XP882)
Mazda 13B Wankel Rotor-2 (RX-7/RX-8)
Mazda R26B R4 Wankel Rotor-4 (787B)
Champions
1&2 Cyl: Ducati V-Twins
4 Cyl: VW/Porsche Air-cooled B-4 and Mitsubishi/DSM 4G63T I-4
6 Cyl: Porsche Air-cooled B-6
8 Cyl: Chrysler 426 Hemi V-8
10 Cyl: Chrysler “Viper” V-10
12 Cyl: BMW/McLaren S70/2,/3 V-12 and Mercedes-Benz AMG/Pagani 7.3L V-12
14+ Cyl: VAG/Bugatti W-16
Runners-up
1&2 Cyl: Harley-Davidson V-Twin
4 Cyl: Subaru EJ20 B-4
6 Cyl: NISSAN RB-Family I-6
8 Cyl: Ferrari F430 4.3L V-8 and Chevrolet Gen I Smallblock V-8
10 Cyl: Porsche Carrera GT V-10
12 Cyl: TVR 7.7L V-12
14+ Cyl: Rolls Royce Vulture X-24
Now, the Nominees for the Odd number engine class are…
Audi 2.1L "Quattro" I-5
Fiat 2.0L 20V I-5 (Coupe)
Honda RC211V V-5
Mercedes-Benz OM617 I-5
Suzuki G10 1.0L I-3 (Geo Metro)
VAG VR5 V-5 (Rabbit)
Volvo Modular I-5 (S60R/V70R)
Wärtsilä RT-flex60C-B Diesel I-9 (Ships)
And now, the final category, Wankels, Piston Rotaries, Radials
What are they?
Wankels
A Wankel rotary engine uses a triangular rotor instead of pistons. Ti gives great power per displacement, but there are reliability problems, and Wankels tend to be high-maintenance, while being somewhat less fuel efficient.
Piston Rotaries
Typical in aircraft or WWI, this engine’s BLOCK was the rotating member. The crank stayed more or less stationary, and the pistons traveled around with the block. There was low vibration, and high power-to weight ration, but conventional designs soon surpassed this type.
Radials
The radial engine is another typically aircraft engine, but this had a standard rotating crank with stationary block. These are typically one row, but later aircraft used up to two rows, and the USSR had a 7-row, 42 cyl. Marine radial engine. These were superseded in fighters by Vee- type engines, but were used in large aircraft until Jet engines came about.
There are other, experimental pistonless Rotaries out there, few of them have made it to production, but if you feel like nominating one, be my guest.
I get the easy one.
MAZDA 13B 2-ROTOR WANKEL ROTARY

- Staple of Japanese Performance cars
- Most successful Wankel engine in existence
- Powers RX-7 and RX-8 (The latter the “Renesis”
- Can sound very good at high revs.
Nominations Criteria
- ONE NOMINATION PER MEMBER. (Including me)
- May be any number of cylinders or rotors
- May be race, street, Aircraft, Marine, whatever
- May only be Pistonless (Wankel) Rotary, Piston Rotary, or Piston Radial
- Try giving some good reasons.
- Engines/families are pretty much grouped by Manufacturers’ classifications, and by how interchangeable parts are. Wikipedia will be extensively used in these judgments.
Current Nominees
GM "XP882" Wankel Rotor-4 (Corvette XP882)
Mazda 13B Wankel Rotor-2 (RX-7/RX-8)
Mazda R26B R4 Wankel Rotor-4 (787B)