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Fifty years ago today, Mazda Motor Corporation began its legacy of doing what was said couldn't be done.
Mazda - then Toyo Kogyo Corporation - needed to create a unique technology that would differentiate it among a rapidly globalising Japanese automotive industry in order to stay independent.
In 1961, Mazda licensed NSU Motorenwerke AG and Wankel GmbH's rotary engine technology, sharing learnings with the German companies in hopes of making wider use of the engine.
Once the prototype rotary engine arrived in Hiroshima, testing began. Unfortunately, within the first hour of running, the engine seized. Mazda had wagered its entire existence on this one engine technology; failure would not be an option, but early impressions meant there was much to be done to keep Mazda afloat.
Knowing how imperative the success of the rotary engine would be for the company, Chief Engineer Kenichi Yamamoto assembled a team of Mazda's most talented engineers - known as the 47 Samurai - to make the rotary engine viable. Of course, they knew other automakers from the around the world had tried or were trying to do so as well; none had succeeded, though.
After a highly lauded debut at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show, on May 30, 1967, the Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S - the world's first production twin-rotor, rotary-engined car - went on sale in Japan. It was Mazda's first sports car, and all the more newsworthy because the company had been known only for its small passenger cars and work trucks to that point. Its low shape complemented the compact dimensions of its two-rotor engine.
Just 1,176 production Cosmo Sports would be built, but its legacy would stretch much, much further. From the earliest races, such as the 84-hour Marathon de la Route in 1968, Mazda never stopped challenging its engineers and designers to keep improving their craft.
Eventually, those efforts would spawn championship-winning motorsports programs all over the world, as well as leading the way for subsequent sports cars that focused on lightweight performance over brute strength. The highest point of Mazda's development of the rotary engine was in 1991, when the quad-rotor-powered Mazda 787B won the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.
During its production, more than 1.99 million rotary-engine vehicles were produced, from sports cars to sedans and even a 26-passenger bus.
Much as with today's Mazda cars and crossover SUVs, hashiru yorokobi - exhilaration, joy and wellbeing from driving - continues to be a critical part of what makes Mazdas what they are.
A Legacy of Innovation: Then and Now
From its earliest days as a manufacturer of high-precision machine tools to today as a provider of exceptional customer experiences through its vehicles, Mazda aims to create a strong emotional connection with customers by offering a unique combination of driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.
Today, Mazda's SKYACTIV Technology continues to delight drivers and passengers with a human-centric focus on the entire driving experience.
But, much as was the case with the Wankel rotary engine, developing SKYACTIV Technology was thought to be an impossible task, never mind the fact that it was being developed by an independent, smaller automaker during the 2008 world financial crisis.
When Mazda introduced its SKYACTIV-Engine family, no other petrol-powered production vehicle could operate with a 14.0:1 compression ratio - the world's highest. Similarly, no other diesel engine could achieve a 14.4:1 compression ratio either - the world's lowest.
Today, Mazda's clean-operating SKYACTIV engines are still unmatched in their balance of performance, driving engagement and environmental efficiency.
Lightweight, rigid SKYACTIV-Chassis and SKYACTIV-Body units allow Mazda vehicles to thrill the driver and passengers as much as protect them. And, in combination with all other SKYACTIV Technologies, the chassis and body designs and engineering allow for an unmatched Jinba Ittai driving experience in every Mazda, whether the iconic MX-5 Miata sports car or the seven-passenger CX-9 crossover SUV - driver and car as one.
Mazda continues to push technology, engineering and design thresholds to deliver cars and crossover SUVs for people who cherish driving. Then, as now, Mazda will never stop challenging.
God that RX-Vision IMO is the best looking car ever made.
I know it is a HUGE Risk, but IF Mazda could build it exactly as this is with a performance RE in it, and if it has to be $45-50K so be it, it is still a bargain to own the best looking car ever made.
JUST BUILD IT MAZDA, you will sell it in the thousands worldwide....I can't afford it right now, but would sell my soul to drive and own one before I die....hurry up my time is running out!..
God that RX-Vision IMO is the best looking car ever made.
I know it is a HUGE Risk, but IF Mazda could build it exactly as this is with a performance RE in it, and if it has to be $45-50K so be it, it is still a bargain to own the best looking car ever made.
JUST BUILD IT MAZDA, you will sell it in the thousands worldwide....I can't afford it right now, but would sell my soul to drive and own one before I die....hurry up my time is running out!..
+2 to that. If they build this rotary-powered Vision sub $USD 80K fully-loaded it would be the best looking sports car.
Here is a 23 page PDF from Japan on the Mazda Rotary History for "The Press"...
Lots of information, including production numbers, note there was no more than about 17,000 Series II RX-8's ever made...making it one of the rare ones. https://mega.nz/#F!1tt1mRxa!1dkN39SViZpq2iL-HaFEjw
The introduction was interesting...to say the least.
It is our sincere hope that in the not too distant future, a new chapter in the history of the rotary engine will be written, and this booklet will become part of the history of the engine.
Here is a 23 page PDF from Japan on the Mazda Rotary History for "The Press"...
Lots of information, including production numbers, note there was no more than about 17,000 Series II RX-8's ever made...making it one of the rare ones. https://mega.nz/#F!1tt1mRxa!1dkN39SViZpq2iL-HaFEjw
The introduction was interesting...to say the least.
It is our sincere hope that in the not too distant future, a new chapter in the history of the rotary engine will be written, and this booklet will become part of the history of the engine.
Lots of information, including production numbers, note there was no more than about 17,000 Series II RX-8's ever made...making it one of the rare ones.
No wonder why Series 2 are so hard to find and rare then. There are only, at most, 17000 in the world. Wow.
God that RX-Vision IMO is the best looking car ever made.
I know it is a HUGE Risk, but IF Mazda could build it exactly as this is with a performance RE in it, and if it has to be $45-50K so be it, it is still a bargain to own the best looking car ever made.
Can they? I thought a large reason why the RX8 fell off the market was due to increasing emissions regulations.
Can they? I thought a large reason why the RX8 fell off the market was due to increasing emissions regulations.
Umm, I did say a big 'IF' and all that encapsulates.
I as many long term Mazda enthusiasts here know most of the hurdles Mazda must overcome and I am not detailing this every-time I post a comment.
If you follow what I have said before many times IMO the RE as we know it is DEAD, but many don't like what I believe, which is OK, I hope I am wrong,
But as I have said before IMO the technical stuff (hurdles) are too far and not achievable.
Like fuel use and economy, which then translates to emissions, then performance and power, it is totally pointless making something that is not class leading and fast with lots of power, without that it will be a failure, particularly IF it is only a 2 Door and Vision in size, straight away you limit your sales numbers, less forecast sales means higher retail price..remember the FD. The reason the RX-8 sold in the numbers it did was because it could easily seat 4 persons with 4 doors, and was affordable, cheap even.
With a new US president and winding back of some of the CAFE regulations 'may' help the RE's future, but Mazda needs a 10 year certainty for production,
a car that is compatible for all world markets, including Europe, UK, Asia, Oceania/Pacific, it will never be made only for North America.
Then the cost of any start up, the handmade rotary engine production line has been mothballed for 5 years now, many of it's RE engine technicians have moved on or retired.
Anyway all old news, and as I have also said before IF any new Rotary which has the RX- badge on it is not born with the Rotary Engine as a main (only) provider of power to rear wheels then I wont buy one, and most here also will not, we don't want a mickey mouse hybrid/come Mini RE Generator as an electric supply in the trunk, with electric motors on drive axles for power. While this will be 'quaint' it is not a Mazda Rotary...RX-
Umm, I did say a big 'IF' and all that encapsulates.
I as many long term Mazda enthusiasts here know most of the hurdles Mazda must overcome and I am not detailing this every-time I post a comment.
If you follow what I have said before many times IMO the RE as we know it is DEAD, but many don't like what I believe, which is OK, I hope I am wrong,
But as I have said before IMO the technical stuff (hurdles) are too far and not achievable.
Hey, I completely agree. I know you as well as a large majority of others around here probably know much more than I do about mazda's trials and tribulations. At the same time, I'm sure there are just as many people out there who think Mazda stopped selling rotaries because "they're dicks".
At no point did I think you weren't fully aware of the situation. The reality is though, they couldn't do it even if they wanted to. So when I see "just do it mazda" my reaction is "I wish, but it's not up to them".
Regarding a new car being a pure rotary. I've kind of given up there too. There was a time in my life when I was looking forward to the "RX9", but I've come to the realization that this is probably as good as it's going to get while still retaining the soul of a rotary. That's more or less when I decided to pick up another 8 and start pouring money into it. If it's the best thing I'm going to get rotary wise, I may as well keep it for the next 20 years. I wouldn't touch a rotary hybrid with a 10 foot pole. "Lets make up for the shortcomings of the RX8 with a prius" **** that. Put a turbo on it, make it marginally more reliable than the RX8 and I'd drop 50k on it in a heartbeat.
No wonder why Series 2 are so hard to find and rare then. There are only, at most, 17000 in the world. Wow.
Yeah, I roughly calculated about 25,000 a few years back as nobody had actual numbers until now.
But 17,000 is pretty rare about 2,000 made in the last year (2012) was the Spirit R.
So I roughly have it at about 11,000 in North America, 3,000 in Japan, 997 Australia (actual), 1,500 Europe and the rest in Oceania (NZ, Hong Kong, etc).
Yep a rare model and the last RE ever made, it's rarity and resale should soar in 10 years...lol
PS" Sort of throws out the window the idea about the Renesis II engine reliability over the original RX-8 Series 1 as being superior, obviously with such low production/sales numbers the engine failure rate will be much lower too.
Hey, I completely agree. I know you as well as a large majority of others around here probably know much more than I do about mazda's trials and tribulations. At the same time, I'm sure there are just as many people out there who think Mazda stopped selling rotaries because "they're dicks".
At no point did I think you weren't fully aware of the situation. The reality is though, they couldn't do it even if they wanted to. So when I see "just do it mazda" my reaction is "I wish, but it's not up to them".
Regarding a new car being a pure rotary. I've kind of given up there too. There was a time in my life when I was looking forward to the "RX9", but I've come to the realization that this is probably as good as it's going to get while still retaining the soul of a rotary. That's more or less when I decided to pick up another 8 and start pouring money into it. If it's the best thing I'm going to get rotary wise, I may as well keep it for the next 20 years. I wouldn't touch a rotary hybrid with a 10 foot pole. "Lets make up for the shortcomings of the RX8 with a prius" **** that. Put a turbo on it, make it marginally more reliable than the RX8 and I'd drop 50k on it in a heartbeat.
That's the way the market is nowadays. People prefer automatic family Sedans and SUVs. For some people this makes sense, but for some people in my age group(uni student) without a family, I just can't understand why they'd want a SUV. It's not like they have a family to drag around.
And a hybrid is not a terrible idea. Before someone screams at me, remember we have BMW i8 and the new Acura NSX, both of which are performance-oriented hybrid cars that perform very well, the former with an I3 and the latter with a V6. If Mazda can pull off a RE performance hybrid car that doesn't cost an arm and a leg like the two cars I mentioned, then that'd be awesome. No low-end torque? Pfff, got plenty if you strap an electric motor on there. Ideally, the electric motors just assist the RE when necessary(think a Honda Insight, but performance oriented), so you get good gas mileage, decent low-end torque, great performance, and a manual transmission option!
But that's not gonna happen, is it? Most likely it's gonna be like a Prius, isn't it?
Not sure for Mazda that any Hybrid would sell in the numbers required, just remember the goal is 100,000 units before it is 'a viable concern' which will return a profit.
The first 100K (car units made) covers design, development, tooling and set up manufacturing costs, unit sales above 100K then become actual return on investment/ a profit, that is roughly the break even number for Mazda.
If you have a model like the RX-8 where almost every engine (in USA) had to be replaced @ $3.5K cost under new car warranty, in some cases more than once, then the RX-8 becomes a loss.
Right now Mazda has been bleeding cash losses because of warranty costs, re Takata Air Bags, Skyactiv Auto Trans failures, Mazda/MZD Connect (infotainment) CMU replacements (all models 2014-2016). Virtually every car brand has been suffering from huge warranty costs, particularly from all the replacement of Takata air bag modules, some models have had the passenger and drivers module replaced 3 times x 2 modules....anyway.
Kudos to Volvo in annoucing the Polestar One - a new sports coupe [not for the masses]. When I saw this in my issue of Car and Driver - I immediately went back to the Mazda RX-vision design - though the Mazda is far more beautiful. I love the Polestar One design that's ready for market but not the $135000 USD price.
Kudos to Volvo in annoucing the Polestar One - a new sports coupe [not for the masses]. When I saw this in my issue of Car and Driver - I immediately went back to the Mazda RX-vision design - though the Mazda is far more beautiful. I love the Polestar One design that's ready for market but not the $135000 USD price.
Production cars are in general "uglier" than concept cars. There are exceptions but this is the case 99% of the time.
The curves and lines on a concept car may not translate well to production cars. Concept cars can cost millions to produce and as a one-off thing, it's not a concern. Once it makes into production however, manufacturing cost becomes a thing and you have to cut corners(quite literally sometimes) to make a car viable.
Either way, at least Volvo can make this car into production and it still looks pretty good. That's way more than what we can say for an RX sports car.
Production cars are in general "uglier" than concept cars. There are exceptions but this is the case 99% of the time.
The curves and lines on a concept car may not translate well to production cars. Concept cars can cost millions to produce and as a one-off thing, it's not a concern. Once it makes into production however, manufacturing cost becomes a thing and you have to cut corners(quite literally sometimes) to make a car viable.
Either way, at least Volvo can make this car into production and it still looks pretty good. That's way more than what we can say for an RX sports car.
looks 80's mustangy to me
Last edited by sinkas; Jan 28, 2020 at 08:33 PM.
Reason: clarification
But where is the all new Real Rotary Engine ONLY car....
Most likely it's gonna be like a Prius, isn't it?
