Latest news with #Wankel
Calgary Herald
15-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Chorney-Booth: Acme Pizza and Pasta Co. finds a new (familiar) home
When restaurateur Dean Symonds moved to Calgary over 15 years ago, the first restaurant he had a hand in opening was Vendome Café, owned and operated by the Teatro Group. Symonds has since become a regular fixture in Calgary's restaurant landscape, working at and eventually owning several beloved restaurants, including The Beltliner and Gorilla Whale. Now, a decade and a half after walking into the Vendome Block for the first time, Symonds and his business partner Jason Wankel are back in that historic Sunnyside venue with a new restaurant of their own, Acme Pizza and Pasta Co. Article content Article content Article content Vendome had a great run under the stewardship of the Teatro Group, but that company decided to close it down last year to focus on other projects. Meanwhile, Symonds and Wankel, frustrated after losing their other restaurants in the wake of the pandemic, had pivoted to pizza, the one foodstuff that seems to thrive no matter what the state of the world may be. Their Acme Pizza Co., with a location in Tailgunner Brewing Co. in Sunalta and another standalone takeout spot in Renfrew, was a bona fide hit. The pair were ready to expand into a larger facility with capacity for a commissary kitchen and a full-service, sit-down restaurant to showcase their well-honed hospitality skills. Article content Article content Article content Timing, as they say, is everything. Right as the Acme crew were ready to expand, that familiar Vendome space suddenly became vacant. Article content 'It is interesting to come full circle,' Symonds says. Article content Symonds and Wankel originally toyed with the idea of opening Acme Pizza and Pasta as a scrappy red sauce joint. But their heritage building location, which Teatro renovated extensively over the years, with its gentle archways and sleek bartop, felt a little too elegant for red checkered table cloths and New Jersey-style spaghetti and meatballs. They knew they had to develop a friendly neighbourhood spot that could do double duty as a romantic date night destination and a go-to for family pizza night. Article content Article content 'We can be playful here, but the room dictates we put a little bit of parsley on top of things,' Symonds says with a chuckle. Article content 'We wanted to match the room,' Wankel says in agreement. 'But the other guiding force is that everything on the menu is going to be on a table with a pizza. We had to remember that, too.' Article content To help strike that balance, the Acme kitchen team – head chef Alexander Row, chef de cuisine and pasta wizard Elyse Trimble, and sous chef Colby Tio – created a menu to entice locals looking for both a quick pizza and beer or a plate of seafood-studded, house-made pasta. The king of the menu, to Symonds and Wankel's admitted surprise, are the gooey panko and parmigiana-crusted mozzarella sticks ($15), which feel both remarkably modern and like a (much-welcome) throwback to the '80s. There are other snacks and small plates worthy of investigation, such as a gorgonzola beet salad with apple and pistachio ($21), marinated olives with rosemary and lemon ($8), and mussels in a lemon-butter garlic sauce ($25), but ultimately, this is a pizza 'n' pasta restaurant.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
A Turbo Single-Rotor Miata Looks Like The Most Fun An NA Can Get
The Mazda Miata is beloved for being tiny and light, a combination of qualities most modern automakers seem to avoid like the plague. It's never been the fastest car, but who really needs that? It's more of a slow-car-fast deal, and every method of upping the power always seems to add weight in equal measure. Unless, apparently, you're rotary wizard Rob Dahm: then you can slap a turbocharged single-rotor Wankel in there, and add power while actually cutting weight. Dahm's latest project is to swap an NA Miata's four-cylinder out for a compact rotary engine. But unlike other rotary swaps, that usually use a 13b dual-rotor out of an RX-7, Dahm is using just a single rotor for his Miata. This comes with its own challenges around simply putting the engine together, but it also ends up with an engine block that weighs just 64 pounds, or less than half the shortblock weight of the engine it's replacing. Yet Dahm claims, with a properly-sized turbocharger, this build could double the Miata's factory horsepower. Read more: Subaru Had It Right All Along This video is just the first in the build series, but it's already more progress than many ambitious swaps ever make. The Miata's transmission has been cut up and welded to a rotary bellhousing, and the single rotor mill is physically inside the car's body. Surely not for the final time, as it's missing little niceties like "engine mounts," but it's in there all the same. The rest is just wiring and pipes, and that's easy, right? If Dahm is correct about the eventual power and weight of this engine, he could have a truly incredible Miata on his hands by the end of the build. It would be more powerful than any Miata built by Mazda, but still light enough to sit with the stock cars, and not so overwhelmingly powerful to entirely change the beloved driving dynamics of the NA. We'll have to keep our eyes peeled on the build to see how it pans out. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ferrari Patents Radical Engine Design to Preserve Combustion Power
Read the full story on Modern Car Collector Ferrari has filed a patent for a revolutionary internal combustion engine, featuring oblong-shaped pistons in a compact powertrain, signaling the automaker's ongoing commitment to high-performance combustion technology despite the industry's shift toward electrification. The patent, published through the European Patent Office, describes an engine design that differs dramatically from traditional round-piston setups used in virtually all gasoline engines. The proposed oblong cylinders resemble the shape of an oval racing circuit, offering potential advantages in reducing friction and enhancing combustion efficiency. These innovations could lead to improved power output and fuel economy while retaining the visceral appeal of Ferrari's high-revving engines. This unconventional design is not entirely new to the automotive world. Honda previously experimented with oval pistons in Formula 1 and motorcycle racing to maximize airflow and accommodate additional valves per cylinder. Mazda's Wankel rotary engines also deviated from conventional piston shapes, although Ferrari's approach appears distinct from both. Industry analysts speculate that this patent could be part of Ferrari's strategy to maintain internal combustion engines in future supercars while meeting tightening emissions regulations. As hybrid and electric technology become increasingly dominant, Ferrari may be exploring ways to keep its signature performance characteristics alive without fully abandoning combustion engines. The move aligns with Ferrari's engineering ethos of continuous innovation. Known for pushing the boundaries of performance, the company remains a leader in combustion engine development, even as it simultaneously invests in hybrid and electric models. While Ferrari has not yet confirmed production plans for this engine, the patent filing suggests that the Italian automaker is actively seeking alternatives to preserve the driving experience that has defined its brand for decades. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
