This 15kg Engine Packs Over 160PS!

American startup Astron has pulled the veils off its Omega 1 rotary engine, and petrolheads have all the reasons to be excited about this development. Astron claims that its featherweight 15kg engine is capable of putting out 160PS – putting it in the league of the Ducati Panigale V2 and the BMW R 1250 GS. So, how has a young company turned a 90-year old concept by Felix Wankel into a revolutionary idea?

Astron has redesigned the engine completely, separating the intake and compression stroke in one chamber, and combustion and exhaust stroke in another. There’s a rotary disc valve in between these chambers, instead of the pre-chamber valve in the traditional two-stroke rotary engine.

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The Omega 1 features an interesting efficiency-boosting ability, allowing the motor to skip fire when cruising speed is maintained. When accelerating, the engine fires at every rotation. However, when maintaining a constant speed, the engine fires at certain intervals. Astron can specifically tune the engine to maximise efficiency or performance, or a combination of desired applications.

So will we see an Astron Omega 1 engine-powered motorcycle soon? While the company is looking at automotive and aerospace applications for the engine, its compact and featherweight construction and performance makes it perfect for motorcycles.