Felix Wankel

Felix Wankel was a man who loved machines.

He was born in Germany. He liked to think about how things work. He even dreamed of a new engine. This engine used a spinning part to make power.

He worked very hard to build it. His engine helped many cars go fast.

Many big companies used his ideas. They made cars and boats with his engine. He was a very famous inventor.

Felix Wankel lived a long life. He died when he was 86 years old.

Felix Wankel was a German inventor.

He loved machines and engines. He was born in 1902. His father died during World War I. This meant the family had less money. Wankel could not go to university. Instead, he taught himself about machines. He had a great imagination for space and shapes.

At age 17, he had a dream. He wanted to make a new type of engine. He thought of an engine that was part turbine and part reciprocating. A reciprocating engine uses parts that move back and forth. In 1924, he began to design his idea. He won his first patent in 1929. This design became the Wankel engine. It uses a spinning part called a rotor.

During his life, Wankel joined the Nazi Party. He was also part of the SS. This was a difficult part of his history. After World War II, he was even put in jail by French troops. Later, he worked with the company NSU. They made the first working prototype in 1957.

Many companies like Mazda and Toyota used his engine. Wankel died in 1988 at age 86.

Felix Wankel was a German mechanical engineer and inventor.

He is most famous for the Wankel engine. This engine changed how people thought about power in cars. Wankel had a very strong imagination for shapes and space. He loved learning about how machines work. Even though he could not go to university, he taught himself many technical subjects. This helped him create something truly unique for the world of transport.

His engine works in a special way. Most engines use parts that move up and down. The Wankel engine uses a spinning part called a rotor. This rotor moves inside a housing to create power.

It is often called a rotary engine because of this spinning motion. However, the whole engine does not spin like some older aircraft engines did. Only the rotor part moves in a circular way. This design was a new way to make a machine run.

Wankel's life included some very difficult and serious history. He was a member of the Nazi Party and the SS. He also joined groups that were against Jewish people. These choices led to hard times for him. In 1933, he was even arrested and sent to jail. After World War II, French troops also put him in prison. These parts of his life are a heavy part of his story.

His invention finally became a reality in the 1950s. He worked with a company called NSU to build a prototype.

This first working model was finished on February 1, 1957. It produced 21 horsepower. Later, the NSU Ro 80 became a very famous car.

In 1968, this car was even named "Car of the Year" in Germany.

Many famous car companies used his engine design. Mazda in Japan used it for many years in their RX-series cars.

Other companies like Toyota and General Motors also paid to use it. Wankel became very successful by sharing his ideas with the world. He died in Heidelberg in October 1988 at the age of 86.

His work can still be seen in museums and special engine shows today.

Felix Heinrich Wankel was a German mechanical engineer and inventor. He is best known for creating the Wankel engine, a unique type of internal combustion engine.

This invention fundamentally changed how engineers approached the concept of power in vehicles. Wankel possessed an extraordinary spatial imagination from a young age. He was fascinated by the mechanics of machines and combustion engines. Although he could not afford a university education, he was a dedicated self-taught technician. His ability to visualize complex moving parts allowed him to conceive of a new engine design as early as 1924.

The Wankel engine operates through a distinct mechanical process. Most traditional engines rely on reciprocating motion, where pistons move up and down in cylinders. In contrast, the Wankel engine utilizes a rotary piston. This rotor spins within a specially shaped housing to create power.

While many people call it a rotary engine, this term can be slightly misleading. In World War I aircraft, entire engines rotated around a fixed crankshaft. In a Wankel engine, the housing remains stationary. Only the internal rotor moves in a circular path to facilitate the combustion process. This design was a departure from the standard reciprocating engine architecture.

Wankel's personal history is deeply connected to the political turbulence of 20th-century Germany. During the early 1920s, he joined several radical antisemitic organizations. He became a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in 1922. Wankel also led youth groups that conducted paramilitary training and scouting games. His political life was marked by intense internal conflict. In 1931, he was appointed leader of the Hitler Youth in Baden. However, he clashed with the regional leader, Robert Heinrich Wagner, over military versus political training. This dispute led to Wankel's expulsion from the party in October 1932. Following the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Wagner had Wankel arrested and imprisoned. He was only released in September 1933 after intervention by Adolf Hitler and his economic adviser, Wilhelm Keppler. Wankel later joined the SS in 1940, but his membership was revoked two years later.

Despite these political complications, Wankel's technical career continued through various stages. During World War II, he developed specialized seals and rotary valves. These components were used for German navy torpedoes and air force aircraft. He also worked with major companies like BMW and Daimler-Benz. After the war, French occupation authorities closed his laboratory and prohibited his work. He was imprisoned by French authorities for several months in 1945. His technical resurgence began in 1951 when he received funding from Goetze AG. This allowed him to establish a new Technical Development Center in Lindau. He eventually partnered with NSU Motorenwerke AG to develop his engine prototype. The first running prototype was completed on February 1, 1957, producing 21 horsepower.

The commercial success of the engine came through widespread licensing. Wankel founded Wankel GmbH in 1958 to manage these agreements. This allowed him to earn royalties from many global manufacturers. By 1961, companies like Daimler-Benz and Yanmar Diesel Co. had licensed the technology. In 1971, Wankel sold his share of these royalties for 50 million Deutschmarks. This amount is approximately 87 million Euros when adjusted for inflation to 2021. His engine was used in many famous vehicles, such as the NSU Ro 80.

This sedan was named the German "Car of the Year" in 1968.

Different manufacturers adapted the engine to suit their specific needs. In Japan, Mazda became a primary user of the technology. They successfully addressed technical issues like chatter marks in the engine. Mazda utilized the engine in several generations of their RX-series, including the RX-7 and RX-8.

Mercedes-Benz also experimented with the design, building models with three-rotor and four-rotor engines. One four-rotor model could reach a top speed of 290 km/h, though it never entered mass production. These varied applications demonstrate the engine's versatility across different automotive sectors.

Felix Wankel's legacy is preserved through various institutions and honors. He received an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Technical University of Munich in 1969. He was also a known advocate for animal rights, opposing the use of animals in testing. Wankel passed away in Heidelberg in October 1988 at the age of 86.

His technical papers are now held in the Technoseum in Mannheim. Additionally, the "AUTOVISION" exhibition in Altlußheim displays over 80 rotary engines and various cars. These collections ensure that his unique contribution to mechanical engineering remains visible to the public.