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40 years of rotary Mazdas
30 May 2007
On May 30, 1967, Mazda started selling its first rotary-engined car, the Cosmo Sport.
In the 40 years since, it has sold nearly two million rotary-engined cars.
Today, the RX-8 is the only rotary-engined car on sale, but it's not likely to be the last: Mazda is working on a hydrogen-powered version, and seven prototypes are on the roads of Japan.
The Cosmo Sport was sold from 1967 to 1972, but despite publicity from racing, it didn't sell in big numbers. Just under 1200 were made, and today they are highly collectable.
The RX-7 was probably Mazda's biggest rotary-engined success – it sold well, especially in the US.
Mazda also used a rotary engine in its 1991 Le Mans-winning 787B, the only Japanese car ever to win the famous French race.
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