Mazda 787B to return to Le Mans for 35th anniversary

A Mazda North America PR person once told us that every car in the collection is expendable, except for the 787B. “That one is priceless because there will only ever be one Le Mans winner,” he said. Given that, if we were Mazda, we’d hesitate to fly the car around the world for a demo lap, but that’s exactly what the company is doing to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the 787B’s historic win.

The 787B will journey back to France to participate in the 2026 Le Mans Classic, billed as the one of the largest historic racing events in the world. It gathers race cars from many different eras to race on Circuit de la Sarthe’s 8.5 miles.

Mazda won’t be competing in that, but the 787B is scheduled for standalone demonstration runs so fans can hear the ethereal roar of the R26B 4-rotor engine. It will also join a parade of historic machines organized by Spark, the model car brand behind a vast array of 1/43 scale race cars.

The 787B is to be driven by Mazda legend Yojiro Terada, the Mazda works driver who has won his class at Le Mans four times, as well as 24 Hours of Le Mans president Pierre Fillon. Said Fillon, “It has long been a dream of mine to have the privilege of getting behind the wheel of this iconic car.”