Tag Archives: rx-3

GALLERIES: The Petersen Automotive Museum opens an unprecedented exhibit honoring Japanese cars

Perhaps it is only fitting that the Petersen Automotive Museum is now located in what was once the only Seibu department store in the US. Where rows of Japanese home goods resided in 1962, today in 2018 stands this hemisphere’s most comprehensive museum … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Australia’s Improved Production Racing is absolutely riveting

Even to car guys, a lot of modern racing is boring because there simply isn’t a lot of differentiation in the actual cars. Sanctioning bodies have made the rules so strict that in many cases the cars are basically identical. … Continue reading

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PIXELATED: JNCs of the Grand Theft Auto universe

With rumors of the next installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise taking place in Vice City, we began to ponder the possibilities for in-game cars. If publisher Rockstar Games does indeed return to their caricature of 1980s Miami, it could make way … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Nostalgic Race Day at Autopolis

The video we’re featuring today is of a Nostalgic Race Day at Autopolis, an international racing circuit in Oita Prefecture. Autopolis, currently owned by Kawasaki, hosts a number of races for Super GT, Super Formula, Super Taikyu and MFJ Superbike, but here … Continue reading

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RIP Kenichi Yamamoto, Father of the Mazda Rotary Engine, 1922-2017

Kenichi Yamamoto, who famously led Mazda’s “47 Ronin” team that brought the rotary engine into reality, passed away on December 20, 2017. His family made public his passing to the Japanese press on Christmas Day. Yamamoto was 95. A bona fide legend in … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Hot Wheels X JNC Japan Historics 2

2018 isn’t even here yet, but we are very excited to show what we know already be the hottest series of the year. The five-car Japan Historics 2 features two new castings, retooled versions of popular existing castings, and some seriously epic card … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 08 — Best Booths

JCCS has become an international show. For years, the event has been growing, with ever better builds and spectators coming from farther reaches of the globe. This year, however, many top companies from Japan attended, while US-based ones upped the ante with … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 04 — Shakotan Sleds

We’ve shown you the JDM rarities, competition machines and museum pieces of JCCS, but we know what you really came here for — Nihon sleds slammed on some vintage barrels. It’s the quintessential Japanese modified car look, and there was plenty of it on … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: IMSA Mazda RX-3 at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Mazda continued to flex its racing heritage muscle at this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. In addition to its usual usual cadre of booming (and zooming) rotary racers, four new participants ripped around the renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 3rd Touge California, 2017

Because we, along with title sponsor Mazda, were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the rotary engine this year, a large contingent of piston-less cars were lined up at the starting grid of the 2017 Touge California. Joining them were decades-old twin-cam Toyota … Continue reading

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50 YEAR CLUB: Mazda Cosmo Sport and Rotary Engine

Like it or not, the automotive industry is a highly conservative one. Advances are incremental, radical innovations few and far between. Amidst this seemingly depressing state, however, genuinely novel and creative ideas that challenge convention catch our attention and imagination … Continue reading

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ART CORNER: San Mamiya’s “Bad Face” Mazda RX-3

Our friend and contributor San Mamiya has revealed his latest illustration, titled Bad Face. It depicts the angry visage of an S124 Mazda Savanna RX-3, headlights glaring, pulled up next to a Suzuki GT380 motorcycle. 

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RIP Jim Mederer, 1942 — 2016

2016 may be over, but we’re sad to report that on its way out an already tough year has claimed yet another luminary from us. Jim Mederer, co-founder of the renowned Mazda tuning house Racing Beat, passed away on December … Continue reading

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50 YEAR CLUB: Fuji Speedway

In a year of momentous anniversaries for Japanese automotive institutions, one stands above all others in shaping the cars we love. Fuji Speedway, which opened in 1966 and turned 50 this year, has been the birthplace of countless legends, whether … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 SevenStock celebrates 19th year as world’s premier rotary Mazda gathering

SevenStock just completed its nineteenth showing. Befitting its namesake, the event is a festival for and by the rotary Mazda community and the largest such annual gathering in the world! Once again throngs of brapping Mazdas occupied the tarmac of … Continue reading

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SEMA 2016: JNC sights, sounds, and more sights

As is always the case with SEMA, there’s a ton of stuff to see, and a lot that doesn’t fit into any of the other categories (or any category, for that matter). As our senior editor Dave Yuan puts it, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — Rotary Power

Mazda’s official JCCS display was a touching tribute to one of Japan’s late, great racing legends. And if Yoshimi Katayama was looking down from the afterlife, he surely would have been beaming over the private entries as well. There were some familiar faces, but … Continue reading

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JCCS Preview: San Mamiya stickers and prints

At JCCS this year, JNC is proud to carry the works of one of Japan’s best automotive artists. San Mamiya stickers and prints will be available at the JNC booth in very limited quantities, so get there early. Here’s a listing of what we’ll … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Automobile Council 2016

In an already packed calendar, a new event has appeared on the Japanese auto show roster. Recently, Tokyo hosted the inaugural Automobile Council, an affair whose stated goal was “Encouraging car culture to blossom in Japan.” That’s a noble aim if there ever was one, … Continue reading

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VIDEO: The age old battle of Skyline vs Rotary

Skyline vs Rotary. It’s one of the oldest rivalries in Japanese motorsports, ever since Mazda snatched the Skyline’s widely expected 50th touring car victory in 1972. The folks at Best Motoring have recreated the battle, with tributes to the works Hakosuka GT-R and Savanna … Continue reading

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