Wankel rotary engines have always been a curious piece of engineering. These rotor-driven engines differ so greatly from traditional combustion engines that any car with one under the hood is sure to attract the attention of enthusiasts.As the use of this engine type has been relatively rare throughout automotive history, it’s no surprise that collectors have been keen to jump on the most interesting vehicles to utilize Wankel power, particularly with the rotary engine in a dormant state. These are 10 rotary cars that collectors are looking at, and they only look to be going one way in values. 10. Mazda RX-8 R3 Mazda Mazda RX-8 R3 Specs As the last rotary sports car ever produced (although perhaps that will change soon), the Mazda RX-8 holds a unique place in automotive history. It also helps it’s a pretty impressive vehicle in its own right.Early skeptics may have seen it as a slightly disappointing follow-up to the RX-7, and its typical rotary high maintenance has often been a bugbear for enthusiasts looking for a cheap modern sports car, but time has been particularly kind to the Mazda RX-8.Credit: Mazdamediapacks.com Especially late R3 models, introduced in 2008. This updated version brought reliability improvements to the 1.3-liter, twin-rotor engine, along with well-received chassis improvements and equipment upgrades.These late versions of the RX-8 are starting to command some serious values, with the most recent sale on Bring a Trailer coming in at $19,150 at the end of 2025 and wider market values remaining around that market. Early models can still be had for under $10,000, but we wouldn’t expect it to stay that way for much longer. 9. NSU Ro 80 Audi UK NSU Ro 80 Specs If we told you that Audi has rotaries in its history, would you believe us? Well, it did, sort of. Long story short, NSU started out in the late 1800s building knitting machines, before manufacturing cars, hitting financial difficulties and eventually being merged with Auto Union to form the company we now know as Audi.Today, NSU is best remembered for putting the first rotary car into production, the NSU Spider. That’s not the car we’re focusing on here, though. Rather, the second and final rotary car it built was a four-door executive sedan.Introduced in 1967 and built for a decade, the NSU Ro 80 used a 995cc twin-rotor Wankel engine. That sent power to the front wheels, and even more curiously, paired the rotary with a three-speed automated manual transmission with a vacuum-operated clutch. Talk about a mechanic’s nightmare.Officially, the NSU Ro 80 never made its way to the US, making it an incredibly rare find and a sure-fire must-have for rotary collectors. The most recent example sold through BaT went for $20,000 in 2023. Even looking to the European market for an import doesn’t return many options, so it’s one to snap up if the opportunity arises. 8. FC Mazda RX-7 Mazda FC Mazda RX-7 Specs Although the FD Mazda RX-7 is the one everyone wants, there’s plenty of love to be had for the car that came before it.Introduced in 1985 and with the Porsche 944 firmly targeted, the FC Mazda RX-7 had some impressive features for the time, including fully independent rear suspension and rear steering. 1987 would see the Turbo variant introduced, allowing the 1.3-liter twin-rotor to produce 182 horsepower and 183 lb-ft of torque. Later versions would increase that further still to 200 hp.Clean examples are hard to come by today, so when they do, they’re sure to attract attention. Expect to pay north of $20,000 for any turbocharged version, as this 10th Anniversary model sold through BaT in early 2026, which went for $24,000. Later, more powerful variants will command higher prices still. 7. Eunos Cosmo Collecting Cars Eunos Cosmo Specs This author is going on record to describe the Eunos Cosmo as the coolest rotary car ever produced, and hopes you’ll agree when you find out you could have it with a tri-rotor engine. Yeah, three doritos under the hood. Incredible.Built exclusively for the Japanese market and sold under Mazda’s Eunos luxury brand, the Cosmo was designed as a tech-filled Grand Tourer. Fun fact: This was the very first production car with a GPS navigation system. In 1990.It was available with the 13B twin-rotor found in the RX-7, but it’s that tri-rotor that will stand out to collectors. With twin-turbocharging, it produced enough horsepower to give the Cosmo the performance its looks deserved.It’s an incredibly rare car, even by JDM-exclusive model standards. Examples in the US coming up for sale are few and far between, with the most recent tri-rotor on BaT sold in 2024 for $25,250. 6. Mazda Rotary Engine Pick-Up Via: Mazda Mazda Rotary Engine Pick-Up Few vehicles stand out in the way the Mazda Rotary Engine Pick-Up does. Often referred to as the REPU, it’s name is quite literal. It’s the only mass-produced pick-up truck ever to use Wankel rotary power.Despite coming from a Japanese manufacturer, the REPU was a modele exclusive to the US and Canada and built between 1974 and 1977. The idea was to create a sporty pick-up truck, combining driving enjoyment with utility. In effect, this was a B-Series truck with wider arches and the 13B taken from the RX-4.Via: Mazda Although a rad machine, it came during the midst of the oil crisis, with poor fuel economy a key factor in very limited sales, given a larger, American V8 pick-up had similar efficiency but with more hauling ability.The result is a cool collector’s truck today, though, and used values reflect that when a REPU makes a rare appearance on the used market. Like this example, which recently sold for $27,500. 5. Mazda RX-3 Car & Classic Mazda RX-3 Specs Although far from the first rotary the manufacturer produced, the Mazda RX-3 is arguably the car that put its association with Wankel engines on the map. Introduced in 1971, the RX-3 was available as a sedan and wagon, but the most desirable was the sleek coupe.It was well received for its engaging driving characteristics and high-revving engine, ultimately becoming the best-selling rotary car produced until the Mazda RX-7 later took that crown. Success in motorsport helped cement its legacy among enthusiasts, too. 4. Mazda RX-2 via Gizmodo Australia Mazda RX-2 Specs Before the RX-3, the Mazda RX-2 became a cult classic of its own. This classic compact was the first rotary car sold in North America, giving it a unique collector’s angle. It helps the car itself was pretty neat, too.You could have it as a sedan and coupe, and period reviews praised it for its refined drive and peppy engine. Oh, and bonus trivia, its Bertone-styled body was originally penned for use by Alfa Romeo before being offered to Mazda.Although the RX-3 was a more popular car, values of the original have held strong, owing to its rarity and status as the first Stateside Wankel-powered car. Like the RX-3, $30,000 has remained the ballpark for the past few years. 3. FD Mazda RX-7 Via: Bring A Trailer FD Mazda RX-7 Specs In the eyes of many collectors, the FD Mazda RX-7 is the pinnacle of rotary sports cars. Introduced in 1991, it had performance to compete with some of the most serious options on the market and its futuristic styling gave it head-turning appeal.US market models offered up 252 hp, but its most curious element was sequential turbocharging, using a small turbo to make up for the rotary’s lack of low-end torque while delivering impressive performance high in the rev range thanks to a larger, second turbine.The RX-7 left the US market in 1996, although it remained on sale in Japan, with some of the most sought-after versions exclusive to the market. For a US car, though, expect to pay around $35,000 for a rare, clean example. 2. Citroen GS Birotor Citroen Citroen GS Birotor Specs When Citroen pulled out of the North American market in 1974, it had just introduced one of its most curious cars over in Europe. The regular Citroen GS was already a weirdly wonderful creation with hydropneumatic suspension, only for the French manufacturer to decide to add a rotary in there.Built from 1973 to 1975, the GS Birotor was powered by a 2.0-liter twin-rotor engine and was intended to be its first (and ultimately only) mass-production rotary-powered car. Emphasis on ‘intended’, as sales could only be described as pitiful.Owing to dreadful reliability, which led to many GS owners spending time back at Citroen dealerships, and the poor timing with the ‘70s oil crisis, just 847 examples of the GS Birotor were built. Citroen eventually bought most of them back from customers with the intention of destroying them, but a few slipped through the cracks.It makes it an incredibly rare find today. One located in the UK was sold in early 2026 on BaT for the equivalent of $37,500. 1. Mazda Cosmo Sport Mazda Mazda Cosmo Sport Specs This is the car that started Mazda’s love with the Wankel rotary engine. The Mazda Cosmo Sport was introduced in the late ‘60s as a stunning compact sports car at a time when the Toyota 2000GT and Jaguar E-Type were around.While it may have lived in the shadow of those, the Japan-only model had merits of its own. Under the hood was a 982cc twin-rotor engine producing 110 hp, a reasonable figure for the time and especially so in a car weighing just over 2,000lbs.Bring A Trailer It’s an incredibly rare car, with just 1,176 produced across two model series. The result is an exceptionally high value, with one recently selling in Canada for $115,00 (USD). Given you’re competing with the rest of the world for those few examples out there, expect prices to only rise.
