the invention relates to a combustion engine having a housing with a chamber . a rotor is arranged herein which is provided with a number of vanes which divide the chamber into a number of compartments . each of the compartments is intended for performing at least one of the following functions : a ) drawing in and / or compressing gas required for the combustion ; b ) bringing the fuel to combustion ; c ) producing work ; and d ) discharging combustion gases . a first pair of vanes is mounted rotatably on a first rotation axis . a second pair of vanes is mounted rotatably on a second rotation axis . the rotation axes are arranged eccentrically in the chamber . the rotary engine has the characteristic that the vanes in each pair are rotatable independently of each other .