{"id":96818,"date":"2022-04-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/citroen-m35\/"},"modified":"2022-04-27T07:15:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T07:15:16","slug":"citroen-m35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/en\/citroen-m35\/","title":{"rendered":"Citro\u00ebn M35"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Felix Wankel first presented his rotary piston engine to experts and the press in Munich on January 19, 1960, he could hardly have imagined what was to follow. A flood of carmakers were practically knocking on his workshop door to be able to participate in this new drive concept. NSU had already made a start years earlier. The first series-produced passenger car with an “NSU\/Wankel system engine” as built there. However, this was quickly followed by further developments from well-known and even lesser-known brands all over the world. In addition to Mazda and Mercedes-Benz, these included Alfa Romeo, Rolls-Royce, VEB IFA (GDR), Porsche, Nissan, General Motors and Suzuki. However, only Mazda and NSU actually brought the rotary engine into series production – or not? At this point, the question first arises as to the number of units from which one speaks of series production. Because two models, each of which produced in three-digit numbers, were made in France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comotor as a Franco-German cooperation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Citro\u00ebn also worked on the rotary engine based on the Wankel principle, although they never signed an official license agreement with the rights holder at NSU. Instead, this cooperation existed with the Comotor company from Luxembourg, in which Citro\u00ebn held shares. In this way, it was possible to hide the intended business relationship from the competition, at least for a time. Fast search queries via internet weren’t yet possible at that time. Citro\u00ebn and NSU planned a joint vehicle project with the engine invented by Felix Wankel. There were to be two model versions, one to be marketed by each manufacturer. In 1967, the two companies jointly founded Comotor and began building a new plant in Altforweiler near Saarlouis. Initially, 25 rotary engines were to be produced there every day, and after a planned expansion, up to 500. To put it in a nutshell: This never happened. At times, surfboards were produced in that plant.<\/p>\n\n\n

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