12 APRIL 2019 The Crankhandle Chronicle Automotive propulsion: past and present By André Loubser ELIX Heinrich Wankel was butions during the war, including for race victory for that mode of power. When the ‘unqualified’ Herr Wan- Fborn in 1902 in Lahr, south BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Has anyone stood close to a Wankel- kel died on October 9, 1988, he western Germany, and in 1921 he In 1951, he began development of powered racing car? If so it could couldn’t have cared less that his left school without the equivalent his engine at the NSU Motor- mean a visit to a hearing clinic! invention never really attained any of a South African matric. enwerke leading to the first running So why, if 25 manufacturers in great heights. After his mother was widowed prototype in February 1957. addition to Mazda purchased the he couldn’t afford a university rights at great expense, did the rotary The diesel engine lives on . education or even an apprenticeship engine concept not attain vast but had various jobs in publishing production figures? and machine shops. However, The first reason is problematic blessed with an ingenious spatial sealing, with the rotor having to be imagination he was able to teach sealed against the chamber ends. himself technical subjects. Aged 17, A diagram of the Wankel engines This means the three chambers have he told friends that he had a vision illustrates how it functions. to be completely separated through- for a new engine, ‘half turbine, half out the cycle which has proved reciprocating’. In January 1960, the rotary engine difficult but history will tell us that True to this prediction, he was presented to the world in piston rings have always achieved conceived the Wankel engine in Munich; and at the 1963 Frankfurt that challenge successfully. Inef- 1924 and won its first patent in 1929. Automobile Show the the NSU fective sealing leads to a decrease in Rudolph Diesel That puts Felix Wankel in the same Wankel-Spider was presented, the engine efficiency and rotary engines league as the ‘unqualified’ Henry first production car to be powered by generally have shorter lives than In comparison to the rotary engine, Ford and Enzo Ferrari, both of a rotary engine. In 1967, the very conventional piston engines. the diesel engine was thought to whom had, at best, the equivalent of modern NSU Ro 80 with twin rotors Another factor is problematic have achieved immortality…..until South Africa’s Standard Eight. It was launched, and went on to combustion with the exhaust stream now! also goes to prove that matric passes become the first German car to be enriched with unburned mixture and The diesel engine was introduced and university degrees aren’t always selected ‘Car of the Year’ in 1968. carbon monoxide. The Wankel to the world in 1892 by Rudolph a guarantee of success. As an aside, engine is not at all ‘green’. Its level Diesel, born in Paris on March 18, there’s book on American multi- of pollution is so high that it’s 1858, his parents being Bavarian millionaires and billionaires that difficult to meet US emissions immigrants. tells how 70% were or are from blue regulations. Also, in general, Wan- Rudolph spent his early child- collar backgrounds. Perhaps an kel engines consume more fuel hood in France but with the inferiority complex made them than regular piston engines. These outbreak of the Franco-Prussian think out of the box and work harder problems have resulted in their war in 1870, the family was forced to achieve success? Possibly yes. The NSU Ro 80. limited use. to leave and settled in London. And by the way, Sir Richard Having sold the licence rights for However, before the war’s end Branson, like Sir Jackie Stewart, is Remarkably, Felix Wankel never a fortune to various takers, in 1986 young Rudolph was sent to live with dyslexic and consequently ended up held a driving licence as he was Wankel sold all his rights to Daimler an uncle and aunt in Augsburg, with a poor school record. His extremely near-sighted. He was, Benz for 100-million marks. In the Germany, where he attended school headmaster predicted he would however, the owner of an NSU Ro meantime, the company that had and attained top marks. In 1875, he either end up in prison or become a 80 that was chauffeured for him. initially acquired rights to the engine received a scholarship from the millionaire! At first he tried to grow From 1958 to 1973, the Wankel in 1964, went on to produce (in Royal Bavarian Polytechnic in Christmas trees and budgies but engine was licensed to 26 major 1969) the attractive C111 prototype Munich. both projects failed. In the end manufacturers throughout the world with gullwing doors powered by a After excelling in various fields the headmaster’s latter prediction but it was really only Mazda that three-rotor direct fuel injection of engineering he began work on proved correct! showed serious commitment to the engine. Subsequently it was used as his new engine concept in 1893. However, I digress. So let’s get concept by producing several rolling test bed for diesel engines as Eventually he obtained a patent for back to Herr Felix Wankel. different models from 1970 to 2002. well as a V8 petrol engine. Sadly the his design for a compression- Even now there’s still talk of produc- handsome car was destined to ignition engine. In his engine, fuel ing an improved and upgraded become a museum piece only. was injected at the end of the version for a new sports car. compression and ignited by the high temperature resulting from the compression, the fundamental difference between a diesel and a petrol engine. From 1893 to 1897, The MAN company in Augsburg gave Rudolph Diesel the oppor- Felix Wankel. The rotary-powered Mazda B787 tunity to test and develop his engine. that won at Le Mans in 1991. On the evening of September 29, Rather than discuss Wankel’s radical The stylish prototype 1913, Diesel boarded the SS pre-war right wing beliefs, we’ll stay In 1991, a rotary-powered Mazda Mercedes-Benz C111 was Dresden in Antwerp en route for with his engine and technical genius, B787 won the Le Mans 24-hours, destined to become a London where he was due to meet which included several contri- the first ever international sports car museum piece. with representatives of the Royal The Crankhandle Chronicle 13 Navy to discuss the possibility of Following Diesel’s death, his engine supplying its submarines with diesel underwent much development. Until engines. He retired to his cabin at the 1930s, it mainly powered boats, 22:00 and was never seen alive locomotives, tractors and U-boats. again. Ten days later the crew of the In 1933, Citroën marketed the Dutch boat Coertzen found his body world’s first commercially-viable drifting in the North Sea near diesel-powered car named the Norway. Rosalie. In 1936, Mercedes-Benz There were various theories to introduced the 260D. explain his death. Some said it was It was only in the 1960s that suicide and others claim he was diesel-powered cars gained limited murdered because he refused to popularity in Europe thanks largely In 1950 and 1951 Mercedes-Benz director, Herr Paulus, grant the German forces exclusive to Mercedes-Benz and its diesel toured South Africa in a 170D to test local conditions. rights to his invention. The obvious taxis. In 1967, Peugeot introduced question is why would a happily the world’s first compact, high- noisy, under-powered Mercedes- In its favour the diesel engine runs married man in good health and speed diesel car, the 204BD. Benz diesels of the 1950s. more efficiently than petrol, owing about the make a fortune commit Following the 1970s oil crisis, And, remember how a Mercedes- to higher compression ratios and suicide? Thus Diesel’s name is Volkswagen introduced its first Benz diesel of that era was started? longer duration of combustion, added to other conspiracy theories, diesel engine, a 1.5-litre in a Golf. In First the ignition key was turned, which means the temperature rises including the deaths of Barney 1978, Mercedes-Benz introduced followed by holding down a handle more slowly, allowing more heat to Barnato, Marilyn Monroe, JF the world’s first turbo diesel. on the dashboard for several be converted to mechanical works. Kennedy, Princess Diana and 9/11. In 1973, diesels represented a seconds. A circular, chrome-plated A major plus point is that diesel 2.5% share of the EEC market, and disc with holes revealed the glow engines are more fuel efficient than by 1983 enjoyed 11% of new car plug indicator and once bright red their petrol counterparts. sales in the EU. By 1992, that figure the starter button could be pressed. Based on perceptions and prejud- had risen to 17.3%. Not ideal for a quick getaway! ices, many of the older generation By comparison the Mercedes- still have difficulty accepting luxury A major problem with the diesel Benz petrol engines, for example in cars powered by diesel no matter engine remains a negative percep- the 220S ponton, were fast and super how smooth or sophisticated they tion by the older generation, mostly smooth. The two types of engine now are. (For better or worse, I’m in those in their 70s and beyond. They were poles apart although the gap that league! ED) The Mercedes-Benz 260D was still tend to associate diesel power has narrowed considerably over the Next month we’ll examine the rise introduced in 1936.