Micro machines: exploring a tiny museum dedicated to Japan's rarest, smallest cars Who is responsible for inventing the hardcore special sports car? BMW files supercapacitor patent that'll charge hybrid racecars in one minute With a rotary engine ban coming into force in 1992 the 787B was imme...
Mazda’s four-rotor 787B wins Le Mans, becoming the first and only Japanese manufacturer to win this famous endurance race. Mazda enters into an agreement with Ford Motor Company to develop and manufacture a new Mazda compact B-Series Truck for the North American market, starting in 1993. ...
Although Mazda stopped at three rotors in its road cars, the modular nature of the Wankel engine means you can keep going further than that if you wish. The Japanese manufacturer itself made the four-rotor ‘26B’ for the screaming 787B racing car, and thusly arranged rotaries are reasonably...
And no, before you potentially soil yourself, we must inform you that it’s not that Mazda, but it is probably about as close as a wealthy mortal is likely to get to owning the vaunted 787B. 1989 Mazda 767B In 1970, a Mazda-powered Chevron B16 became the f...
(80 cu. in.) 13B engine with 135 PS (133 hp, 99 kW) and 133 lb-ft (180 N-m) of torque. The extra power made the Luce GT the fastest rotary Mazda since the Cosmo Sport L10B; Toyo Kogyo quoted a top speed of 121 mph (195 km/h) and a 0-400 meter (quarter mile) ...
the groundbreaking Mazda rotary engine would have to debut in a stunning sports car. By the end of that year, the car’s basic layout was settled, with design work underway in early 1963. Mazda certainly chose the grandest of names, fitting for an ambitious vehicle born in the pioneering ...
Suspension tuning was undertaken by Takao Kijima, who would later be responsible for the suspension design of the Le Mans-winning 787B. Aside from the Mazda badges and fender-mounted mirrors, the Roadpacer AP looked exactly the same as a Premier. To lure the business executives and government...
Although Felix Wankel’s name is still closely linked with the rotary engine, it was not a new idea even when Wankel first started working on it in the 1920s. Plans and patents for rotary steam engines had been developed as far back as 1769, although it’s unclear if they were ever bu...
While Mazda’s most famous rotary race win was in the legendary 787B at Le Mans in 1991, there have been numerous rotary racing successes over the years. DRIFTING Since the rotary engine was put on hiatus following the end of the Mazda RX-8 production in 2012, it’s been left to anoth...