You May Not Like It But this Is What Peak Combustion Technology Looks Like - Rotary Vane Engine

When you hear "rotary engine" you picture the Mazda Wankel — an engine that nailed power-to-weight and smoothness, but flopped at torque, emissions, economy, and longevity. A beautiful failure. But the Wankel got ONE thing profoundly right, and it's not the "Wankel" part — it's the "rotary" part. And once you understand why, you'll see that the theoretical ultimate combustion engine should be rotary… but it should NOT be a Wankel. It should be this: a rotary vane engine. In this video I break down how the rotary vane engine works, and how — on paper — it beats both the piston engine and the Wankel at basically everything. Then the honest part: the one Achilles heel, and why nobody's really building it. What we cover: WHY RECIPROCATION IS THE ENEMY — how converting up-and-down motion into rotation creates vibration, limits RPM, and forces us to carry a heavy crankshaft and connecting rod that never even see combustion. HOW THE VANE ENGINE WORKS — a circle rotating inside an ellipse with four sliding vanes, giving FOUR combustion events per rotation (vs one for a Wankel, and one per TWO rotations for a four-stroke piston engine). POWER, SMOOTHNESS & FEWER PARTS — no conrod, no crankshaft, no cylinder head, zero reciprocation, zero vibration. Even simpler and smoother than a Wankel (no eccentric shaft, no gearing losses) — almost like an electric motor that just spins. THE TORQUE MONSTER — why the vane engine has a long, constant lever arm with combustion force acting right at the end of it, giving a broad, fat torque plateau and huge low-RPM torque. EFFICIENCY — how the expanding vane increases the surface area combustion acts on (like a bore that grows as pressure builds), harnessing more energy, similar in spirit to the Atkinson cycle. THE ACHILLES HEEL — why sealing ISN'T actually the main problem, but centrifugal force flinging the vanes into the housing IS — and the sci-fi-but-real fix: a non-contact gas seal (the kind Rolls-Royce patented for jet engines). WHERE IT IS — why rotary vanes are everywhere as PUMPS but not engines, Dr. Roy Hartfield's continuous-combustion rotary vane project, and why no serious, well-funded company has truly gone after it (plus the modern high-efficiency rotary efforts like LiquidPiston). Theoretically, it's the ultimate combustion engine. Whether anyone ever builds it properly is the open question — but the potential is very, very real. A special thank you to Brandon, the subscriber who put this engine on my radar. 👍 If you enjoyed this, hit like and subscribe for more engineering deep dives. 💬 Do you think the rotary vane engine deserves a serious shot? Let me know in the comments. — Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only and reflects theoretical analysis based on publicly available information. #rotaryvane #rotaryengine #wankel #combustionengine #engineering #howenginesworks #automotive #enginedesign #rotary #howitworks #cartech #mazda #internalcombustion #liquidpiston