Drawing from a supply of F1s that no longer existed, the Frutiger's were fortunate when their overseas contact spotted this JPS pining away in a U.K dealership. (Photo: Larry Williams) » More Photos

“The F1 is undeniably a beautiful 1machine and well ahead of its time,” says Richard Negus of Norton Motors Ltd, the UK-based firm dedicated to keeping Norton rotaries on the road. “It was a Norton and we had to have it,” relays Tim and Tom Frutiger of Wheels Unlimited in Rochester, Minnesota. Proudly wearing the JPN badge, this splendid, last edition Sport was brought to our attention by the brothers Frutiger during our visit to shoot their Norton Monocoque works racer (“Enigma Machine”, M-E, Fall ‘05). “As these things usually go,” remembers Tom, “it all sounded easy at first. We were told there were plenty to choose from…which color did we want? But when we finally did order, they were sold out! Obviously, we were lucky to get this bike.” Negus, who was contacted to validate our research and provide additional information, served as Norton’s Director of Engineering from 1987 to 1993. Upon hearing of the Frutiger’s machine, Negus asked, “Is it the machine I recently spotted on eBay?” That bike, located in Tennessee, is a few digits older that Frutiger’s bike and wears the racer-replica striped paint scheme. “I’m surprised to see any rotary over there, especially an F1 Sport,” said Negus, “We only produced 66 total and none of them were imported into the USA.

” Designed by Dr. Felix Wankel, who began preliminary drawings as early as 1924, the rotary engine was basically conceived under the build-a-better-mousetrap theory. Born and working in Germany, Wankel was forced to shelve his project to serve under Hitler’s rule, designing and implementing rotary valve propulsion systems for aircraft and torpedos. Following a succession of stints with notables like BMW (automobile) and Daimler-Benz, Wankel built his first running rotary prototype for DKW in 1957. That engine evolved to drive the first ever Wankelpowered vehicle; the NSU Ro80. Known for his reclusive nature, Wankel spent his golden years deep in study. Spending his final years in peace, he died on October 9, 1988 in Lindau, Germany.

Despite finding long term success with Mazda, the rotary design has found little elsewhere despite its many outstanding engineering aspects. It differs mainly from the four-stroke norm by using far fewer moving parts, with only two (in the case of Norton’s design) triangular-shaped rotors spinning inside of a pair of epitrochoid-shaped chambers. Thus the power robbed to drive (for example) cam gearing and other auxiliary features of a normal piston engine is saved, giving the rotary a highly efficient, two-stroke like horsepower-to-displacement ratio.