The Mazda RX-5 is easily the most unloved “RX” car ever sold. When Mazda decided to revive the Cosmo name on a 2+2 GT at the height of the mid-70s luxo-barge craze, it dropped the “Sport” altogether and gave it an “AP” suffix. That stood for Anti-Pollution — this was post-oil-crisis, remember? — and at 2,645 pounds, it pushed the limits of what its emissions-choked 135PS 13B could handle, but hey, it did have a stylish waterfall grille and opera windows in the B-pillar!
Despite all its shortcomings and subsequent unpopularity, however, this Japanese owner managed to build a classy one that appears mostly stock, albeit slammed.
Of course, any 1970s luxury box is just begging to be zokusha‘ed, and the Cosmo is, surprisingly, a not uncommon choice. But if you’re going that route you might as well start with the obnoxiously-proportioned, gangsta-ish notchback coupe that wasn’t offered in the US. Just add bolt-on bubbles and asymmetrical headlight aero covers.
And don’t forget to completely fill in your side windows for that pimp-tastic back-seat privacy.
A bit more photos will be good. dont realy like modifyed version ive seen much better transformations of this car. but the clean slammed version of it looks realy good
behold, one in “the wild” of rural virginia..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80073081@N00/5500483777/in/photostream
I remember a lady in my home town bought a new RX-5. I thought it was pretty sexy with that glass in the b-pillar. Personally, I think Mazda’s little PLC has aged pretty well.
These big Cosmos are really cool but not as pretty as the other Mazdas of the period. I like ’em, but I LOVE all things Mazda. There were a number of nice Cosmos at the New Year Meet, including a nice yellow one. Never seen one in yellow, really like it.
I read they were a lot more popular in Japan than America.
A single RX-5 in nearly stock form was entered in the 1976 Daytona 24 for publicity to show the rotary’s reliability. The drivers expected a break down but the car ran the entire time.
Yeah, it was designed with a lot of styling cues of big American cars at the time. Another Mazda around that time designed as such was the Luce Legato. They expected the Cosmo to do well in the US, because of the style and size, but it flopped, whereas in the home market it sold surprisingly well. Go figure.
Not only did that RX-5 enter the race in ’76 but, Ray Walle, owner of Z&W Mazda, drove the Cosmo (Mazda RX-5) from the dealership in Princeton, New Jersey to Daytona, won the Touring Class Under 2.5 Liters at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and then drove the car back to New Jersey. The Cosmo placed 18th overall in a field of 72. The only modifications were racing brake pads, exhaust, and safety equipment!!
Nice to see Berny on these pages =P
Hmm.. maybe I should do one of mine like the on at the top, or maybe not….
It will probably sit in the garage for another 10 years.
/ Magnus
Fenders are one thing, but you can’t undo the window delete.
The top one is smexy.
BTW, that’s a sexy Cherry in the last photo!
I really like if that Mazda still in stock car condition, and only use rare rims,
rather than Bosozoku style 🙂
Regards from Indonesia, see the video about Japanese Classic Car running in here
–> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDijRcTdH6s
The Cosmo AP was also offered with a 1.8 piston engine in other parts of the world (like Europe for instance) as the Mazda 121. A regular upgrade on those cars is to put te rotary back in where it initially was supposed to be. 😉
Also the notchback was called the Landau and looks a little bit different than the one posted up there.
Yeah that closer to stock one slammed is waaaaaaaay nicer looking than that other one. It crossed over into silly land, instead of badass land lol.
I had a 1976 Cosmo up until this last fall. Sold it to a Mazda rotary nut in Michigan. Awesome car with some great features.
4 wheel disc brakes was a first for a US Mazda. Loved the opera windows and boomerang tail lights.
Now I want another…
Are these 4×110 or 4×114.3 wheel PCD?
I believe these are 4×120 like an early Honda.