They burn oil like mad to keep the tip seals of the rotor lubricated. They suck down gasoline - the RX8 gets maybe 15mpg if you drive it hard. 20 if you are car

They burn oil like mad to keep the tip seals of the rotor lubricated. They suck down gasoline - the RX8 gets maybe 15mpg if you drive it hard. 20 if you are careful. And it has to be premium. You have to be careful not to flood the engine - never run it for less than 30 seconds, or without revving to at least 3K RPM. The upside is that the engine itself is tiny and mounted almost exactly in the middle of the car - under your feet. Rotary's get about 3x power for the same displacement as a reciprocating piston engine. They're great in airplanes. I've spent a lot of time in an RX8 and it's a blast to drive if you're willing to deal with the cost and finicky nature of the beast. When the engine spools up and it just starts whirring... that's a beautiful thing.