The internal combustion engine still packs some punch. Case in point: Kiwi drifter ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett has unveiled ‘the wildest drift car I could think of’ built around the world’s first five-rotor Wankel rotary engine.
Indeed, the world is accelerating its transition towards an electric future, and for good reason. But the internal combustion engine has some practical mechanical wizardry that many tuners have spent a lifetime understanding and honing. The noise, smell, heat, and inherent danger of all these little explosions, especially when presented like this, always irritates the loins and tickles the adrenals of petrolheads around the world.
Red Bull sponsored drift racer ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett is no stranger to Wankels. His RUMBUL, RADBUL, HUMBUL, BADBUL, MADBUL drift cars are all Mazda-based rotaries. In fact, his NIMBUL Lamborghini is a remarkable oddball. Among his long list of accolades, he holds the world records for fastest Mazda and fastest rotary at Pikes Peak, set earlier this year.
Most of them were multi-turbo, quadrotor monsters, including the Pikes Peak car, which reportedly produced around 1,400 horsepower. Calvibs.
However, the new MADAZ 787D is a step above. This car’s name was inspired by the 1991 Le Mans Wankel Rotary, which won the 24-hour race and was the best (but not the last) race car to ever compete in top-level international racing. It was named after the Mazda 787B that solidified the concept. However, the Mazda is not a mid-engine car like his 787B. It looks a lot like his MADBUL drift car with the engine in the front.
Its engine is the 33b, developed in partnership with experts at Kiwi Wankel. pulse performance race engineering (PPRE). It extends the typical Mazda quadrotor design with his fifth rotor, each with a displacement of 654 cc, for a total of 3,270 cc in this case. You can see this giant Wankelburger being assembled in an Instagram video from a year and a half ago.
Whiddett hasn’t released any power figures at this point, but one thing is clear: this car is designed not to follow any rules. So instead of an efficient and somewhat quiet turbo, it’s naturally aspirated, ridiculously noisy, and absolutely unacceptable to polite companions.
The car was unveiled over the weekend at Whiddett’s own event, Mad Mike’s Summer Bash 6, in Waikato, New Zealand, where it soared into the sky in front of an enthusiastic crowd. No word yet on when or where it will run, and Red Bull has no involvement with the car. It’s a personal project.
But check it out in the video below.
The world’s first 5-rotor is still alive and well! 787D
sauce: “Mad Mike” Whiddett