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The fuel economy was sharply improved from our 1976 model rotary engine cars mainly through modifications to the engine and improvements in the reactivity of the thermal reactor system. The progress of our development on these items of improvement and their effects are presented in this paper. Our advance program includes several development items in addition to the above, and the progress of development on these items and their future prospects are also presented.

Based on a 1982 model passenger car powered by a 1490 cm3 4-cylinder engine, a concept car has been designed to achieve a substantial fuel economy improvement without sacrificing vehicle performance. The deisgn factors affecting the fuel efficiency of the engine and the vehicle were picked up and improved via experimental analyses. As the cumulative effects of the modifications implemented, the concept car has virtually achieved a fuel economy improvement goal of 40%. A simulation program was carried out to determine the fuel economy contribution of each design factor modified for incorporation in the concept car, thereby identifying the areas to be concentrated on for practical application.