Chery is also willing to use the Wankel engine for its upcoming hybrids

Little by little, the use of the Wankel engine in small hybrid vehicles is beginning to move forward. While a private company had dared to put a Wankel inside a Fiat 500 as a range-extender engine, now the Chinese from Geely are running tests on a similar idea.

That is why a photo of a small-displacement Wankel engine was leaked online today. Officially, Geely’s idea is to equip its cars with engines of around 800cc that can supply energy to an electric motor.

In the first tests the Wankel engine was used in a model from its small QQ3, reaching ranges of 120 to 150 kilometres on electric power alone. With the Wankel engine coupled to the electric motor, it seems they gained about 60 extra kilometres of range.

The truth is that the additional mileage achieved doesn’t mean much to those of us tirelessly looking for more range, but for now they are only in the early testing phases and will need more time to know whether the results are good enough for the Wankel to have a new use inside a car.

Via | China Car Times