01
Origins
The Norton Classic of 1987 launched the marque's strangest chapter: a limited run of around 100 machines powered by the twin-rotor Wankel engine the company had developed through its troubled decade — air-cooled here, smooth beyond piston imagination, and thirsty beyond excuse. Collectors absorbed the run immediately. The rotary line evolved through the Commander tourer to the F1 sports flagship, and racing versions stunned Britain by winning at national level, the White Charger's 1992 TT victory crowning the saga. The Classic thus opened British motorcycling's most quixotic engineering adventure — glorious, uneconomic, and remembered with the affection reserved for beautiful dead ends. Britain's engineering romances rarely balance books; this one at least won races while losing money.
DKW Wankel 2000 · Peprovira · CC BY 3.0
