Tag Archives: monterey historics

A rare look at the 1965 Honda RA272 Formula 1 racer as it makes landfall in America

A Mazda PR rep once told us that every car in their museum in replaceable, even the original Chicago Auto Show Miatas, except one: the Le Mans-winning 787B. For Honda, that equivalent must be the 1965 RA272, the first Honda … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Restored Gatorade RX-3 and other classic Mazda racers at Laguna Seca

Monterey Car Week’s centerpiece racing event, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, concluded this weekend. While there was a noticeable lack of Japanese representation at Laguna Seca as compared to last year (despite the fact that the theme was the 50th … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Mazda bringing quartet of four-rotor racers to Monterey

At the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this week, Mazda will enter four quad-rotor cars into the vintage races. Perhaps the most notable one, however, is the 1991 FC3S RX-7 IMSA GTO, which returns to its ArtNature livery, the colors the … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Nissan Fairlady 240Z-G

Monterey Car Week takes place next week, and we’re seeing more Japan-market classics trickling their way over to US shores. Perhaps the most desirable among this year’s crop is a genuine 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240ZG, a homologation special with factory … Continue reading

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PROFILES: Dr Hitoshi Kato’s Mazda R100 vintage racers

Racing is an extraordinary human endeavor. It encompasses brains and brawn, heroics at the individual and team levels, with huge amounts of synergy and coordination. And the machines are both technologically advanced and visually magnificent, catapulting us beyond our natural human abilities. For spectators, … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: R100 and Mazda’s Endurance Racing Legacy

2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Mazda’s historic win at the world’s most celebrated endurance race: Le Mans. Yet Mazda’s interest and involvement in endurance racing stretches way back, beginning with its Cosmo Sport at the 1968 Marathon de la … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2015

The Rolex Motorsports Reunion is typically a high point of Monterey Historic Car Week, but this year a black cloud hung over the festivities. The volunteers that have run Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since it opened in 1957 is being forced out by the … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? Kenmeri GT-R, 2000GT up for auction at Monterey

Last year’s Monterey auctions introduced the Nissan Skyline to guys who, until that very moment, thought a Hakosuka was an octopus-based snack. Similar head scratching occurred moments later when two decades-old Toyotas and a Mazda followed and sold for big bucks. After that, every automotive journalist, … Continue reading

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JNC‘s top stories of 2014

As we mentioned, 2014 was the Year of the JNC. As it draws to a close, let’s look back at the things that most interested JNCers over the last 365 days.

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 05 — Sights & Sounds

The Monterey Historics car week is one of the world’s great automotive events, and 2014 was a milestone year for Japanese classics. After all, seminal Nihon steel made strong showings at auctions, iconic Japanese cars raced at Laguna Seca, and Japanese automakers even held news-making unveilings … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 04 — Running a Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion

Today’s guest writer is Alvin Gogineni, a member of the Z Car Garage team that restored and worked as pit crew for Joel Anderson’s No. 49 IMSA Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. —Ben If it’s the smell of 110 octane, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 03 — Motorsports Reunion

Perhaps the only thing more heavenly than hearing a cacophony of uncorked engines at full tear is actually witnessing a fleet of irreplaceable metal come screaming over the hills. The Rolex Motorsports Reunion is one of the highlights — possibly the highlight — of … Continue reading

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NEXT VERSION: A closer look at the Toyota FT-1 Graphite

The Toyota FT-1 is just a stunning piece of design. And now, Toyota’s built a second one and painted it Graphite Gray, making it even more beautiful than the first. It was unveiled last week at McCall’s Motorworks Revival, an exclusive pre-party … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 02 — The Auctions

We’re going to do things out of chronological order because we felt it was important to report on the auctions of four significant Japanese cars as they happened. Now that we’ve recuperated from the madness, here’s how it went down, … Continue reading

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NEWS: 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport sells for $264,000

Minutes after the white Toyota 2000GT crossed the block at Gooding & Co., a short-wheel base 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport did the same.Both were from the same collection, an unnamed collector that also sold a BMW 507 and 1969 Camaro … Continue reading

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NEWS: Toyota 2000GTs sell for $1 million each

The Toyota 2000GT is a million dollar car. But you already knew that. In the auction world, the rule of thumb is that a car needs to sell for a particular price three time before it’s considered legit. Two 2000GTs … Continue reading

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EVENTS: KPGC10 Skyline GT-R at the Monterey Historics

We just brought a genuine KPGC10 Skyline GT-R to the Monterey Historics. It was a bit surreal to say the least, watching it enter the paddocks of the legendary Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Though it never raced here, the circuit is the GT-R’s natural environment, … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? One of the finest Toyota 2000GT restorations you’ll ever see

Sometimes life throws you lemons. Or, perhaps, an entire lemon tree aimed squarely at your Toyota 2000GT. Other times, the car nut friend you meet in college turns out to be Akio Toyoda. To be clear, Javier Quirós‘s family was already knee-deep in Toyotas … Continue reading

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KIDNEY, ANYONE? 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport, Toyota 2000GT to be auctioned at Monterey Historics

In addition to the hakosuka GT-R at RM Auctions, there will also be a 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport at Gooding & Co.’s Monterey Historics auction this year. The Cosmo Sport has been restored by noted restoration shop The Finishing Touch of Fountain Hills, … Continue reading

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