There have been some incredibly unusual and unconventional engines developed throughout automotive history. Here are five of the weirdest:
- Wankel Rotary Engine: This engine, notably used by Mazda in models like the RX-7 and RX-8, doesn’t have pistons. Instead, it uses a triangular rotor that rotates within a chamber to create power. Its unique design allows for high revolutions and compact size but has issues with fuel efficiency and emissions.
- Turbine Engine: Chrysler experimented with gas turbine engines in cars like the Chrysler Turbine and the Jet Age-inspired concept cars. These engines ran on various fuels (even diesel and kerosene) but were incredibly complex, noisy, and had high fuel consumption.
- Radial Engines: Often used in aircraft, these engines have cylinders arranged in a circle around a central crankshaft. However, they’ve occasionally been adapted for cars, like the 1929 French Salmson AL3, which used a radial engine. Their size, weight, and cooling challenges made them impractical for most cars.
- Swashplate Engine: The Bourke Engine was a swashplate engine that had a unique design with pistons moving in circular motions rather than up and down. It aimed to be efficient but faced reliability and practicality issues, which led to its limited use.
- Compressed Air Engine: An experimental technology that has seen various iterations, like the AIRPod or MDI’s air-powered cars. These engines use compressed air to move pistons, but their efficiency and range limitations have hindered widespread adoption.
These engines showcase the diversity of engineering ideas and approaches, even if some of them didn’t quite achieve mainstream success due to technical limitations or practical challenges.
