Anyone have an idea of what the numbers might be of $ put into research and development of Rotary Engine vs Piston Engine

 

Big

vs


Bigger

 

Per year? Per unit? All time?

If all automakers spent equally, you would have Mazda in the Rotary corner and EVERYONE ELSE in the piston corner. So it's not really even comparable.

 

I am talking all time at least since birth of Rotary. Big and bigger sure. I am just assuming though that the amount spent on research for Rotary is insignificant compared to Piston R&D.

 

I would imagine the difference would be vast since Piston engines have been around so much longer and have been the main type of engine used in cars for a century. The first production wankel powered car was in 1968.

 

Correct. Even if Mazda spent $10 million a year on the rotary (indexed for inflation) since 1970, they would probably be behind what is spent on piston engines among all manufacturers (including Mazda, motorcycle engines, boat engines, train engines, etc...) in one year.

 

Wow, I just read that the idea of a crankshaft with rods dates back to the 3rd century and the Roman Empire.

 

Ancient technology with a few improvements :-)