Mercedes-Benz M 950
Experimental Wankel engine made by Daimler-Benz
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. The engine was developed by Daimler-Benz's Wankel engine department, headed by Bensinger. About 100 units were built, 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. 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.
Design
The M 950 is a prototype engine family with a working chamber volume Vk of 600 cm3, designed for automobile use and had, by 1972, not reached the series-production stage. Designed as an engine family, the M 950 was meant to be easily expandable; Wolf-Dieter Bensinger briefly mentions designs with up to six rotors, and notes that a five-rotor design would have very favourable eccentric shaft bearing conditions. Eventually, the engine was made in three- and four-rotor versions. It has peripheral intake and exhaust porting, a mechanical petrol direct injection system, and single spark plugs.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mercedes-Benz M 950” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.