Wankel engine enthusiasts can still find plenty of rotary-powered Mazdas out there on the
open market. Like this classic 1968 Mazda Cosmo Sport that's coming up for
auction.
The first rotary-powered production automobile, the
Cosmo was revealed as a concept at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show. Its space-age
styling and unusual powertrain proved a hit with the public, so Mazda put it
into production – and it, in turn, put Mazda on the map.
The Japanese automaker would make fewer than 400 of
these Series I coupes between 1967 and 1968 when this example was made. It
features a dual-rotor engine displacing less than a liter (by the Wankel's
unusual standard) yet produced 110 horsepower. VIN L10A10322 appears to be in
excellent condition, from its white paintwork to its houndstooth upholstery,
and shows 33,629 kilometers on the odometer.
RM Sotheby's and its sister house Auctions America
estimate it will sell for about US$ 120,000 (give or take US$ 10k) when the gavel
drops this weekend in Santa Monica. That'd make it about four times more
expensive than the last RX-8, or than anything Mazda makes today for that
matter. If and when the manufacturer green-lights a successor, here's hoping
it'll come in less expensive than that.
