One of the radical changes ever made to a legendary American muscle car, the Ford Mustang is to replace its default engine with a rotary engine as its drivetrain. By whom? Does Ford do that? Nobody knows.
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Visitors to the National Auto & Truck Museum in Auburn, Indiana, can walk right up to the rotary-powered Mustang and give it a close inspection. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/37g3C8i) |
It could happen when an American aircraft company named Curtiss-Wright Corporation who had previously signed a joint agreement with NSU, a German automotive company in the 1960s to be able to develop its own version of the Wankel engine, one that was of a high-performance nature specifically engineered for aircraft.
The Wankel engine, or more popularly known as the rotary engine, was first developed by a German engineer named Felix Wankel in the 1920s and receiving a patent in 1929, and coincidentally at that time, Wankel was working at NSU where his engine was developed furthermore.
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The fan shroud is almost as long as the rotary engine itself and sits well back in the chassis. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/37g3C8i) |
In the ensuing years, NSU licensed the Wankel engine design to various car companies around the world, including AMC, Mercedes-Benz, Citroen, General Motors, Nissan, Suzuki, and Toyota, yet it was Mazda that installed the Wankel engine for the RX7 and RX8 cars ranging of 1978 up to 2011.
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Notice the V-8 distributor cap with only two spark plug wires fitted. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/37g3C8i) |
The Wankel's rotary engine concept, based on three-sided rotors spinning on a single shaft, was truly innovative, as it used 98 percent fewer moving components than conventional OHV or OHC combustion engines. Its simplicity of function is truly astounding.
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Plenty of documentation is presented alongside the Mustang including the original registration and State of New Jersey Certificate of Ownership. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/37g3C8i) |
So who actually initiated to install the Wankel engine in the Ford Mustang? Nobody knows. But what is certain is that this red-colored Mustang fastback obtained from dealer Dockery Ford in Morristown, New Jersey, and was registered in the name of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Wright Aeronautical Division on July 28, 1965.
The engine installed in that Mustang is a Curtiss-Wright-designed Twin-Rotor RC2-60 rotary, displacing a mere 240 cubic inches and able to develop power up to 185 horsepower at 5,000 rpm. It weighs only 237 pounds, but its compact length of 18.5-inch made it ideal for small cars; it stands at just 21.5 inches tall. Smaller than a 289 Ford small-block V-8, it fits in the Mustang's engine compartment with plenty of room to spare.
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Aside from the single exhaust emanating from the driver’s side, it’s impossible to tell that this rotary-powered Mustang is any different from a standard 1965 Mustang. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/37g3C8i) |
For the present that has entered the electrified vehicle era, Ford has also been built an electric-powered Mustang pony, wanna see it? Click me... *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | HEMMINGS | NATMUS]
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