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There's a rumor that Mazda is bringing back the venerable rotary engine. Chances are, it won't be this rotary engine.
Did you know that the FD RX-7, one of the most legendary Mazdas ever, made do with just two rotors? Please. Even the Eunos Cosmo, a car at which we can only gaze from afar, had just one more rotor than that. To match the creation that Tyson Garvin has created, you would have to multiply the Eunos Cosmo's rotors by three, then add three more rotors. Then divide that by four, then add five more rotors. Then take away two, because you've gone too far. And then you'll have a 12-rotor Wankel engine, and quite possibly a nosebleed.
Garvin races endurance powerboats and raced from New York City to Bermuda in a little less than 16 hours, a record for the Bermuda Challenge that he and teammate Chris Fertig have set twice. The boat they used featured twin Cummins 5.9-liter diesels pumping out 480 hp each. It, and the new 12-rotor rotary, both serve to underscore the insanity that is powerboat racing.
Garvin's R12 rotary engine does funny things to the concept of rational thought. It is entirely polished, weighs 830 pounds and fits in the space of a big-block Chevrolet V8. Displacement is 960 cubic inches. Its 12 rotors are nestled within three banks in a Y configuration: two banks on top, and one on the bottom. They are nothing short of gorgeous. The bottom bank has the output shaft; the two top banks help drive the bottom. All three banks are connected by gears. One bank counter-rotates against the bottom in order to match the exhaust side; the other rotates in the same direction as the output shaft. There are just 19 moving parts -- when you're speeding at an average of 78 mph across the Atlantic Ocean, you need all the reliability you can get.
Let's talk power. That's always the fun part. Garvin can cruise the R12 around, for 400 maintenance-free hours worth of pleasure boating, with 1,400 hp. Add in a pair of turbochargers and that jumps by 1,000 hp. Add race gasoline and 25 pounds of boost, and that jumps to 3,600 hp. Double the boost and Garvin could potentially produce 5,000 hp, he estimates -- and if he drag races the thing, he could hit 14,000 RPM.
This is all theoretical, of course -- Garvin, who started designing the engine five years ago, is still dialing in the fuel injection and making other tuning adjustments. The above video shows an initial shakedown run on the dyno with a single carburetor. It produced 815 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, while managing to sound like Satan's dental drill. Note the glass of water on the back of the engine -- the engine runs so smoothly that there's nary a ripple. We couldn't make that up if we tried. Take that, Lexus.
Everything about this engine (the equivalent of three 787Bs, mind you) is incredible. It makes us wish we could cram it in a 1976 Mazda GLC and do burnouts on the lawns of Ram SRT10 owner.
Did you know that the FD RX-7, one of the most legendary Mazdas ever, made do with just two rotors? Please. Even the Eunos Cosmo, a car at which we can only gaze from afar, had just one more rotor than that. To match the creation that Tyson Garvin has created, you would have to multiply the Eunos Cosmo's rotors by three, then add three more rotors. Then divide that by four, then add five more rotors. Then take away two, because you've gone too far. And then you'll have a 12-rotor Wankel engine, and quite possibly a nosebleed.
Garvin races endurance powerboats and raced from New York City to Bermuda in a little less than 16 hours, a record for the Bermuda Challenge that he and teammate Chris Fertig have set twice. The boat they used featured twin Cummins 5.9-liter diesels pumping out 480 hp each. It, and the new 12-rotor rotary, both serve to underscore the insanity that is powerboat racing.
Garvin's R12 rotary engine does funny things to the concept of rational thought. It is entirely polished, weighs 830 pounds and fits in the space of a big-block Chevrolet V8. Displacement is 960 cubic inches. Its 12 rotors are nestled within three banks in a Y configuration: two banks on top, and one on the bottom. They are nothing short of gorgeous. The bottom bank has the output shaft; the two top banks help drive the bottom. All three banks are connected by gears. One bank counter-rotates against the bottom in order to match the exhaust side; the other rotates in the same direction as the output shaft. There are just 19 moving parts -- when you're speeding at an average of 78 mph across the Atlantic Ocean, you need all the reliability you can get.
Let's talk power. That's always the fun part. Garvin can cruise the R12 around, for 400 maintenance-free hours worth of pleasure boating, with 1,400 hp. Add in a pair of turbochargers and that jumps by 1,000 hp. Add race gasoline and 25 pounds of boost, and that jumps to 3,600 hp. Double the boost and Garvin could potentially produce 5,000 hp, he estimates -- and if he drag races the thing, he could hit 14,000 RPM.
This is all theoretical, of course -- Garvin, who started designing the engine five years ago, is still dialing in the fuel injection and making other tuning adjustments. The above video shows an initial shakedown run on the dyno with a single carburetor. It produced 815 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, while managing to sound like Satan's dental drill. Note the glass of water on the back of the engine -- the engine runs so smoothly that there's nary a ripple. We couldn't make that up if we tried. Take that, Lexus.
Everything about this engine (the equivalent of three 787Bs, mind you) is incredible. It makes us wish we could cram it in a 1976 Mazda GLC and do burnouts on the lawns of Ram SRT10 owner.
Startup in the garage:
Dyno pull:
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