We have featured Mad Mike Whiddett’s antics here on BangShift before. The Aussie drifter has had a string of pretty angry rotary powered Mazdas and the car he brought to Goodwood in 2018 was no different. This 550hp 4-rotor beast was his weapon of mass entertainment as he took it streaking up the hill a few times, gave some awesome dirifting and car control exhibitions throughout the weekend and in one case actually brought a deaf man’s hearing back because of the ear splitting noise that this car produces.
The little rotary engine continues to be a platform that motorsports enthusiasts embrace with gusto and continues to be a platform that OEMs flirt with (we’re looking at you, Mazda) despite some of the inherent things that make it a less than ideal production car power plant. Yes, the power density is awesome but there are drawbacks like emissions compliance, low-end torque production, and fuel economy that all seem to be working against the combo. Engineers in darkened rooms still work on the Wankel design to make it better from a production standpoint. Racers continue to make insane power with these things, especially for the displacement that they carry.
Heck, just watch Whiddett take the fight to Lord March’s driveway and have a sideways blast while doing it. We’d say that you should crank up the volume but we don’t want to make blood shoot out of your ears.
Speaking of sensory overload, Rob Dahm’s 1240hp turbo 4-rotor is nearing completion. Can’t wait to see him light up the 4-wheel drive monster and set off the quake monitors along the San Andreas Fault line. Should make Gov. Newsome soil his Depends………..