If there was any engineer who had an out-of-the-box mindset, Felix Wankel would be king of the pioneering thought process. His rotary engine concept, based on three-sided rotors spinning on a single shaft, was truly innovative, as it used 98 percent fewer moving components than conventional OHV or OHC combustion engines. Its simplicity of function is truly astounding.

Wankel, an engineer in Germany, designed his rotary engine back in the 1920s, receiving a patent in 1929, but it wasn’t until he was employed at the German car company NSU that his engine was developed. In the ensuing years, NSU licensed the Wankel engine design to various car companies around the world, including AMC, Mercedes-Benz, Citroen, General Motors, Nissan, Suzuki, and Toyota, yet it was Mazda that made the Wankel engine a household name.

So how did a prize Wankel end up in a classic American pony?