Cars with rotary engines have not been produced since 2012, when the last Mazda RX-8 came off the assembly line. The Mazda rotor is due to reappear soon, but there the engine will now be part of a hybrid powertrain.
However, another vehicle with such an engine will be launched earlier. It is a Crighton CR700W – a motorcycle with a rotary engine, which, however, will be quite expensive – 85,000 pounds.
The motorcycle engine has one of the highest powers among naturally aspirated units or also known as atmospheric. With a volume of only 690 cc, the power of this engine is 220 hp. at 10,500 rpm.
This is an output equal to 319 horsepower per liter of displacement. By comparison, most MotoGP racing bikes have about 300 horsepower per liter.
The rotary motor has many advantages. First, it is very compact and has fewer parts. The Crighton engine consists of only three. At the same time, the weight of the unit is only 24 kg, and together with a six-speed gearbox – 43 kg.
The chassis is made of a lightweight aluminum alloy and the rims are made of Dymag carbon fiber. As a result, the CR700W weighs only 129 kg. In comparison, the light and powerful Ducati Superleggera V4 weighs 152 kg.
In addition, the rotary engine has less vibration and is designed to run at high speeds, making it ideal for a motorcycle. They also have a specific exhaust sound. This is exactly what Crighton promises – lightness, smoothness and sound.
The motorcycles will be assembled by hand and the CR700W will produce only 25 units. That is, even before it was released in production innovation is already a collector’s model that will only become more expensive over the years.
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