Tag Archives: fc3s
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
Posted in Legends
Tagged cosmo sport, fc3s, fd3s, k360, Kenichi Yamamoto, mazda, r100, r360, rotary engine, rx-2, rx-3, rx-4, rx-5, rx-7, RX-Vision, sa22, Tsuneji Matsuda
11 Comments
EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 05 — 80s & 90s
This year the JCCS Street Neo Classics show was put on hiatus because its venue, an area of the Toyota USA campus, is no longer available. If you’ve been following the news the company’s move to Texas is underway, so soon the long-standing Torrance … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Team Highball IMSA RX-7, the most successful endurance racer of all time
It is often said that rotary engines are unreliable. And yet, some of the greatest long-distance racers have been pistonless Mazdas, including what has been called the most successful endurance racer of all time: the Team Highball 1985 IMSA GTU RX-7.
Posted in motorsport
Tagged fc3s, imsa, mazda, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, rotary engine, rx-7, sa22, Team Highball
18 Comments
VIDEO: Ichikawa Parking Area in the Bubble Era
At the height of the Bubble Era, meets stretched deep into the pre-dawn hours. Even at 4 am, parking areas like Ichikawa PA were filled with Savannas, Soarers, and Skylines. Tuning legend Isami Amemiya even shows up with an FC3S and his … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Bubble Era, eunos, fairlady z, fc3s, Ichikawa PA, mazda, miata, nissan, r32, skyline, soarer, toyota, z20, z31, z32
10 Comments
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
Posted in Touge California
Tagged 240z, 510, a10, a20, a40, bluebird, Bluebird Coupe, c10, carina, celica, century, corolla, corolla levin, cosmo, cosmo sport, CX-3, cx-5, CX-9, daruma, datsun, dodge colt, eunos, fairlady roadster, fc3s, fd3s, galant, Hakosuka, kgc10, mazda, mazda 3, mazda 6, miata, mitsubishi, MX-5 RF, nissan, repu, rotary engine, rx-2, rx-3, rx-3 sp, rx-7, rx-8, S30Z, sa22, skyline, sprinter trueno, sunchaser, te27, Touge California, toyota, VG40
17 Comments
KIDNEY, ANYONE?: 48k-mile 1989 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
As JNCs become bona fide as collector vehicles we’re beginning to see more well-preserved examples come out of hiding and onto the market. 15 years ago, a well-preserved JNC was usually owned by some little old lady who drove it to … Continue reading
EVENTS: 2017 Tokyo Auto Salon, Part 02 — Restomods
Since its inception in 1983, the Tokyo Auto Salon has been Japan’s showcase premier exhibition of automotive trends. Back then, it went by the very literal name of Tokyo Exciting Car Show, but the idea was the same — showcasing what Japanese tuners … Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged ae86, c10, c110, c210, corolla, corolla levin, Crown Majesta, dr30, ebbro, fairlady z, fc3s, g-works, GS F, Hakosuka, kenmeri, kp61, lexus, mark II, mazda, mitsubishi, Obayashi Factory, r30, r31, R31 House, r32, r33, r34, r35, radio control, RC F, re amemiya, Rocket Bunny, rx-7, S180, s30 z, skyline, soarer, sprinter trueno, ssr, starion, starlet, Super GT, tokyo auto salon, tom's, Top Secret, toyota, wagons, work wheels, x70, z10
5 Comments
TUNE UP: The Weeknd’s “Party Monster” Mazda RX-7
About a month ago, alternative R&B singer The Weeknd posted a photo of himself standing in the desert with an FC Mazda RX-7 in the background. Yesterday, that video, called “Party Monster,” dropped.
TUNE UP: The Weeknd drives an FC3S RX-7
We thought 1980s Toyotas had a lock on the music video game. Apparently not, as alternative R&B singer The Weeknd has posted to his Instagram feed photos of a flared FC3S Mazda RX-7 with “⚡️” (lightning bolt emoji) as the only comment. … Continue reading
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
Posted in events
Tagged 767b, cosmo, Eunos Cosmo, fc3s, fd3s, gto, gtu, imsa, mazda, miata, mx-5, r100, racing beat, rotary engine, rx-2, rx-3, rx-4, rx-7, rx-792p, sevenstock
3 Comments
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
Posted in events
Tagged familia rotary coupe, fb, fc3s, japanese classic car show, JCCS 2016, mazda, r100, rx-2, rx-3, rx-4, rx-7, sa22
8 Comments
GRAND TOURING: Chubu and Kinki, Part 02
Part 01 of our grand tour through central Japan took us to Toyoma, a city that revealed not only castles but a trove of classic Toyotas. After prying ourselves away, we headed inland.
Posted in Grand Touring
Tagged cr-v, fairlady z, fc3s, Grand Touring, honda, kei, mark II, mazda, minica, mitsubishi, nissan, rx-7, s30 z, suzuki, swift, toyota, toyota 86, trucks, x70
10 Comments
EVENTS: Nostalgic2Days 2016, Part 02 — Tuning Houses
For our second installment of the 2016 Nostalgic 2 Days event coverage, we’ll take a look at some of Japan’s kyusha tuning houses, beginning with our friends at Star Road. The Tokyo-based specialists of classic Skylines and Fairlady Zs typically holds court … Continue reading
Posted in events
Tagged abunai deka, ae86, c10, cappuccino, Car Shop Friend, Cedric 31, common snapper, corolla levin, crown, datsun, dr30, f31, fairlady z, fc3s, hachiroku, Hakosuka, Infiniti M30, keiichi tsuchiya, leopard, mazda, Michelotti, mooneyes, nissan, Nos2Days 2016, Nostalgic 2 Days, pit house, r30, r31, R31 House, RS Start, rx-7, s130, s30 z, s40, seibu keisatsu, skyline, sprinter trueno, star road, suzuki, toyota, trd, volk
11 Comments
VIDEO: Drag racing outside Makuhari Messe circa 1992
Makuahri Messe is the big convention center in Chiba that hosts events the Tokyo Auto Salon and (before its move to Big Sight) the Tokyo Motor Show. If Tokyo city is at the 11 o’clock position of Tokyo Bay, then Makuhari is at … Continue reading
MARKETWATCH: 2016 Scottsdale auction roundup
If the 2016 Scottsdale collector car auctions are any indication, it may be time to declare that Japanese classic cars have gone fully mainstream. All five of the major Scottsdale auctions (Barrett-Jackson, RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Gooding & Co. and Russo … Continue reading
Posted in marketwatch
Tagged 2000gt, A80, auctions, cosmo sport, fc3s, fj40, ford courier, hilux, land cruiser, mazda, rx-7, supra, toyota
3 Comments
VIDEO: Drifting Hakone in 1992
Imagine a winding touge packed with Japanese drift machines — Silvias, RX-7s, Supras, Fairlady Zs and AE86s. So. Many. AE86s. Last year we showed a video proving that underground drifting was already reaching fever pitch by the late 80s. By 1992, Hakone Pass — one of … Continue reading
EVENTS: SevenStock 2015
Mazdafarians far and wide came to the recent SevenStock 18, the premiere showcase of rotary-powered Hiroshima heroes. Held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the all-day festival mixed a car show, track day, and basically anything that was Mazda rotary-themed.
