In what appears to be a preview of the Caravan in September. Jeremy Barnes(of MNAO) and Aaron Robinson of Car&Driver drove an RX-8 to pick up the Cosmo in Arizona and DROVE THE COSMO back to Irvine California.

Now since Mr. Barnes is a member here maybe he can pop in a give us a few remarks? Dont want to give the whole article away of course before C&D print it

http://rotarynews.com/node/view/930

 

that is an amazing looking car! looking foward to reading the article

 

Hello all. WARNING: Long post, sorry...

Well, as Charlie accurately points out, Mazda North American Operations did indeed just purchase a wonderful 1967 Cosmo 110s to add to our growing collection of significant Mazda road and racing cars.

Knowing the 40th anniversary of Mazda's two-rotor rotary engine was coming up this year, we'd been looking for a while for a Cosmo. Our colleagues to the north, Mazda Canada, Inc., have a very nice restored 1970 Series II long wheelbase car, so we really wanted to concentrate on finding an early (1967 or 68) SWB model, known as the 110a, to add to the North American collection.

We found a car in the LA area about a year or so ago, but moved too slowly and it was bought out from under us. Dissapointed, I asked the seller if he could tell me where it went (thinking that perhaps the new buyer would sell it on), and he said it went to Jay Leno. Hmm, good home, indeed!

Anyway, time went on and we learned about the car that Glenn had out in Arizona. He and I chatted over the phone a number of times, we dispatched one of our lead engineers out from California to look at the car, Glenn and I chatted again, and ultimately a deal was done.

Aaron Robinson, from Car and Driver magazine, and I drove out in an RX-8, spent the night in the Phoenix area (where, I might mention, it was 106 degrees at 9pm...not a good omen for the next day), and met Glenn and Tim at Glenn's house the next morning. We went over paperwork, hopped in both cars and drove off.

Aaron and I swapped-off time behind the wheel of the Cosmo on the drive home, and she drove like an absolute champ. Never skipped a beat, barely used 1/2 a quart of oil, got close to 20mpg. She hummed along on the freeway quite happily at 70-80 mph without a complaint, although once we got onto I-10 heading west through Desert Center, and it was 108 degrees out, the oil and water temps did rise to the top of the "normal" range. We dropped speed to about 55-60 and the temps stayed solid the whole way. As we got closer to the ocean, the air temp dropped and we picked up speed again, comfortably in traffic at 75mph.

Some impressions: she's very, very small! You can see this when she's parked next to pretty-much anything, even the RX-8 which is no monster truck itself. She's a 40-year-old car, and a little testy when cold. It takes 10 or so minutes of driving before the steering, gearbox, brakes, throttle response all loosen up, but when warm, she's as responsive as you could possibly want. You tend to forget that, because modern cars are just so very, very good in comparison.

Could you drive her everyday? Really, yes. The trunk's small (but so is the one on my Miata). There's no A/C, but the vent windows are a wonder on the freeway. She's small, so you're at the mercy of the big cars when lanes merge. That said, parts are beyond hard to find, and every gas stop is 5 minutes longer than it needs to be because of the questions.

She's been used for one media program in the Washington DC area already, is in Cleveland for the Champ Car race this weekend, will be driving to the Monterey Historics in August, will be at SevenStock (with the Mazda Canada LWB car), and at a host of other media events and autoshows into and throughout next year.

She'll be well cared for!

Best to all,

Jeremy.

 

That's one clean Cosmo.

 

awesome story Jeremy!

 

Jeremy,

Thanks for signing on and giving us the story. It's awesome to hear that she drove so well on the way back to Irvine.
Can't wait to see this beauty in person at SevenStock.

 

I loved the picture of the Cosmo and the RX-8 side-by-side.

Hmmm... an MX-5 with a Renesis... there's an idea...

 

Looks so futuristic doesn't it.

Hi Jeremy!

 

I find it more amazing that Mr. Barnes was on here, than a 40 yr old Mazda could make that trip.

 

Yeah, it is a very clean one, I wonder what MNAO paid for it!!..

Not sure what the one went for here last year at the Shannon's Auctions, that was a 110B

 

Sorry ASH8 -- a gentleman never kisses and tells... Suffice it to say that it was a fair price for both parties.

 

Thanks for the wonderful story. The pics next to the 8 really surprised me.

 

I am sure both parties have a smile on their face, you know us Aussies are a cheeky lot!...while I am at it Jeremy...can I interest you in a "Very Cute" RENESIS 13B Engine Model for your desk...I am sure "we could work out a deal?"

See my Signature below...

 

Nice find! Love the pic of the two side by side. Would love to see the 7 thrown in for a family shot.

 

I was able to see the Cosmo at one of our club meet's at Glenns shop. It was like stepping back in time. Absolute mint condition... JeremyB you have a real treasure, but I don't have to tell you that..

Did you get to see Re140?

 

Whoa... that's an awesome story! I look forward to picking up the C&D issue to read about it. I definitely like the old style of the Cosmo.

 

omg that's so pretty. That Cosmo is so small, even compared to the 7 it is dwarfed, and the 7 is even smaller than the 8.

 

Amazing! just this car is going to make my trip to sevenstock worht it!

Thanks for coming in and sharing the history Jeremy

 

The 8 looks like a caddy next to it. Makes you wonder if the 8 will have the same appeal in 40 years.

 

Looking forward to next issue of C&D....

 

I really want one of those cars.

 

Will I get banned if I ask about how well the AC of the 8 worked in the 109º weather?

Seriously though. I tell all my n00bish friends from other forums how we have Mazda big wigs on our forum. They're uber jealous.

 

The rotary is a great story so it makes perfect sense to invest in it, it certainly is a significant proofpoint to the whole "zoom zoom" brand building efforts.

 

RH drive! Were they all that way?

 

I don't think they went for sale in the US, so I assume so.