Mercedes-Benz M 950

Mercedes-Benz M 950
Overview
ManufacturerDaimler-Benz AG
DesignerWolf-Dieter Bensinger
Production1969–1970
Layout
Configuration
  • 3-rotor
  • 4-rotor
Displacement
  • 3.6 dm3 (220 in3)
  • 4.8 dm3 (293 in3)
Compression ratio9.3
Combustion
Operating principleWankel
SuperchargerNaturally aspirated
Fuel systemMechanical petrol direct injection
ManagementHelix-controlled inline injection pump, 3D-cam
Fuel typePetrol
Oil system
  • Wet-sump
  • Intake manifold oiler
Cooling systemWater-cooler
Output
Power output
  • 205 kW (280 PS)
  • 260 kW (350 PS)
Chronology
PredecessorM 170
SuccessorM 951

The Mercedes-Benz M 950 is a prototype Wankel rotary engine made by Daimler-Benz. It was first described in Wolf-Dieter Bensinger's 1969 essay Der heutige Entwicklungsstand des Wankelmotors, published in January of 1970.[1] The engine was developed by Daimler-Benz's Wankel engine department, headed by Bensinger. About 100 units were built,[2] of which some 3- and 4-rotor units were installed in the Mercedes-Benz C 111 experimental sports car, from 1969 until 1970, as a mid-engine.[3] Although scheduled for commercial introduction in 1970 as a 2-rotor engine, the M 950 had not reached the series production stage by 1972. Daimler-Benz then developed a successor to the M 950, the M 951, but Daimler-Benz's Wankel engine development was abandoned in 1976.[2]

  1. ^ Bensinger, W. D. (1970). Der heutige Entwicklungsstand des Wankelmotors. MTZ, 31(1), 10-16.
  2. ^ a b Kalbhenn, Wolfgang (2020-12-02). "VIEL mehr als eine VISION". Mercedes-Benz Oldtimer-Ticker (in German). Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  3. ^ Heidbrink, Gerhard; Hack, Joachim; Kalbhenn, Wolfgang (2022). Mercedes-Benz Classic (ed.). Mercedes-Benz C111 Fackelträger, Traumsportwagen und Rekordjäger (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuchverlag. p. 162. ISBN 978-3-613-04482-1. OCLC 1309075649.