Mazda’ s team dedicated to the rotary was led by Kenichi Yamamoto. He would go on to become the president of the entire company. This helps explain why Mazda has persisted with rotary power
Even now, Mazda’ s RX-8 is the last rotary-powered sports car to be porduced the Rotary Engine Development Centre. Kenichi Yamamoto, who had originally worked on Mazda’ s transmission production line and would later become president of the whole company, led a team of 47 engineers to work on the rotary project. Mazda would compete with the Germans to see who could bring a rotary-powered production car to market first. NSU won, and in 1964 the Spider was launched. Three years later, the NSU Ro80 made an appearance. Sadly, the NSU’ s Wankel engine suffered from serious apex seal wear and therefore engine failure. The warranty costs that NSU had to uphold stifled its development of the rotary.
Mazda’ s version of the Wankel’ s concept didn’ t suffer from early apex seal wear. To prove it, Mazda entered its first rotary-powered car, the Cosmo, in the gruelling Marathon de la Route, which by then was held at the Nürburgring over a non-stop 82-hour period. The Mazda not only finished the event, it narrowly missed the podium and placed fourth.
Mazda used its rotary technology in all sorts of vehicles, such as buses and pickups. However, it’ s Mazda’ s rotarypowered performance and racecars that we really remember. It’ s the RX-7, the company’ s flagship sports car, that’ s most famous for its rotary engine. Mazda built the RX-7 with the two-rotor Wankel 13B engine – some of which were turbocharged – from 1978 to 2002. The coupé also proved itself as a very capable competition car, winning endurance races including the 24 Hours of Daytona and Spa 24 Hours, and championships such as the British Touring Car Championship and Australian Endurance Championship. It also held its own as a rear-wheel drive car amongst a field of fourwheel drive monsters in the Group B rally era.
The rotary had its day at the top echelons of motorsport, too. Mazda’ s Eighties prototype campaign at Le Mans culminated in 1991 with the 787B, with its four-rotor engine with variable inlets and 700hp. The 787B took overall victory before Wankel-engined cars were outlawed in the race.
The final rotary-powered Mazda was the RX-8 – a fourdoor coupé with a redesigned rotary motor. Related to the 13b in the RX-7, this new engine had relocated exhaust ports and revised apex seals. It was not only much more efficient than the RX-7’ s engine, but it also produced 235hp without the use of any turbochargers – not wildly behind the 265hp of the forced induction 13B in the later RX-7.
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