General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine

The General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine (GMRCE) is an internal combustion Wankel engine which uses a rotary design to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating pistons. In November 1970, GM paid $50 million, ($392,287,918 in 2023 dollars ^[1]), for initial licenses to produce their version of the Wankel rotary engine, and GM President Ed Cole initially projected its release in three years. Chevrolet, with impetus from Pete Estes and John DeLorean, as well as Ed Cole worked on the Wankel. Bob Templin was the chief executive in charge of rotary-engine research at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan, but Ed Cole would leave his office in Detroit twice a week for the trip to Warren, taking charge of the program.^[2] The engine was initially targeted for an October 1973 introduction as a 1974 Chevrolet Vega option. Its mediocre fuel economy and the ill-timed Arab oil embargo were contributing factors to end the GM rotary program.