Mazda is known for its innovations in mass-produced rotary engines in sports cars like the RX-7, but it wasn't exactly the first to utilize Wankel's design.

Felix Wankel, a German engineer who invented the rotary engine, is born on Aug. 13, 1902, in Lahr, Germany. Wankel, ... the DKM 54. The DKM was first operated in February 1957.

At the same time, Felix Wankel, our favorite Nazi nutjob got ready with his first prototype rotary engine, the 21 horsepower DKM 54. The Inventor Of The Rotary Engine Was A Nazi Nutjob.

The rotary engine has been a Mazda staple since 1967. It powered one of the most famous and eccentric Japanese sports car line-ups, the RX-series, until 2012 when Mazda discontinued pure rotary ...