(first posted 8/31/2014) Only one picture exists of this find by canadiancatgreen, but luckily it’s of its more visually interesting posterior aspect, showing off both its roll-down opera window and hockey stick taillights. No, it’s certainly not a beautiful car, but as an example of one of Mazda’s most legendary nameplates, it deserves some attention (though its preservation seems completely accidental).
My understanding was that these were sold as RX-5s, but apparently all North American variants were badged Cosmo, just like this Canadian example. According to the testing listed in this ad, which credits NSU and Wankel for the rotary engine design, it offered 34 mpg on the highway–a wildly optimistic figure. Buyers must’ve had a more realistic understanding of the Wankel engine, because the fuel crisis torpedoed Mazda’s fortunes in the US. The RX-5/Cosmo, introduced in 1975, was therefore quite unpopular.
In Japan, where it could be directly linked to the (more than merely) gorgeous Cosmo sports car, it enjoyed more success despite being a plush cruiser with very little in common with its namesake. Outside Japan, the rotary would continue in the RX-7, whose lightweight and performance focus justified high fuel consumption, but North Americans would never see the likes of the RX5/Cosmo again. Hiroshima would continue to make more rotary Cosmos, however.
The Brougham-y cues seen on our feature car would give way to a more high-tech aesthetic and turbo power for 1981-1989, but the space-age lounge theme would continue to define the Cosmo until its 1996 discontinuation.
If the ultra ’70s and ’80s cars challenge conventional notions of good taste (check out the cassette deck and chunky memory buttons), the final Cosmo was much more traditionally elegant.
Introduced in 1990, exclusively with sequential twin-turbocharged rotary power, it would be available not only with the twin-rotor 13B as seen in the famously manic 1993 RX7, but also with a two-liter three-rotor making 300 horsepower and lb-ft of torque.
At the time of its intro, it shocked foreign journalists with its performance and amenities. A very far cry from the featured car, no doubt, but as an upmarket Japanese offering sent home and re-imagined for domestic consumption in a bubble economy, this sort of evolution was perfectly natural. Very different times, indeed.
As the picture of this lowered example suggests, many have been imported by enthusiasts to such places as Canada, Australia and Russia where they are enjoyed (or often abused) today. Americans similarly interested in maintaining a sequential twin-turbo triple rotor will be able to import these cars starting in the coming year.
This obscure piece of ’70s kitsch, however, is the closest we can get to that kind of magic today. For those so interested, a number of upgrades from the RX-7 are available. Good thing parts are available through that avenue, as this Cosmo is rare enough that I stumbled across another feature about the exact same car, apparently listed for sale about a month ago at about $2,300. The listing’s since been taken down, meaning this piece of Japanese esoterica has likely found a life elsewhere. May it live long and prosper.
Related reading:
CC Outtake: The Real Mazdastang
From The Cohort Cornucopia: 1978 Mazda 929L – The Japanese Brougham That Was Denied To Americans
Curbside Classic: 1991 Mazda 929S – It’s As Big As A Cadillac!
Cohort Sighting: Eunos Cosmo (Mazda) – The Only Triple-Rotor Rotary Engine Production Car
Nice looking car. I’ve only seen one of these in person. A neighbour of mine had one when I was a boy. It wasn’t as attractive as the first generation Cosmo Rotary sports car, but it was attractive. 🙂
What a shame they didn’t continue to sell that in North America, the preceding body styles were great, even that one from the 80’s.
Cosmos were to the 77-79 T-Birds what the Coronas were to the LTDs — smaller and more fuel efficient but keeping an American look.
The Accord 3-door was the more interesting one with its FWD, new-wave styling and positioning between a sedan and sport speciality. That turned out to be a sweet spot for sales.
Though I was more captivated by the Accord I’ve always liked the styling of the Cosmo.
The RX-5/Cosmo predates the 1977 T-Bird.
Kita my comment did not mean to suggest the Cosmo copied the T-bird or vice versa. What I meant was that Japanese cars from around this time tended to be over-styled, like American cars. That’s why I found cars like the Cadillac Seville and first gen Accord so attractive. As a young car guy I was sick of vinyl tops, whitewalls, fake stitching and the like.
Mazdas were very attractive but, in at least one aspect on every car, as over-decorated as a Toyota. Nissan was worse.
As a kid I was pissed-off that the Cosmo had that opera window. Ditto for the overly busy taillamps on the RX4 coupe, a car that was otherwise gorgeous. And how about those fake hood vents on the RX2? Did you think they were OK?
The only time I recall seeing one of these was on an episode of Chips being driven by Erik Estrada.
There is a twin turbo, 3 rotor Mazda PU that plys the streets of NE Portland. I will try to get pics of it. “3rotor” is its license plate.
Never seen these before – I doubt they were sold in the UK and most 70s Japanese cars had disintegrated by the time I started noticing cars in about 1985 anyway.
The rear end screams “Hillman Avenger” to me. I wonder how many other cars had similar “hockey stick” taillights. I can’t think of any but I’m probably forgetting some.
I too, instantly think “Hillman Avenger”. The tail lights have stuck in my mind from a rental Avenger in the UK in 1971.
I only remember seeing one of these in person, parked on the streets of Washington, D.C.
I actually liked these, they did manage to look slightly smaller/sportier than the somewhat similar RX-4.
The truly exerable version of this car came when Mazda ditched the large “opera” window/semi-fastback look and grafted on a vinyl roof with tiny opera windows and a very formal roofline. The result looked very much like a 76 Monza Town Coupe with a mini Oldsmobile “waterfall” grille.
Kudos to Mazda for reaching the edge of a steep cliff and managing to come back.
Hillman Avenger taillights anyone?
My first thought as well, only with the Americanized Plymouth Cricket.
I am Canadiancatgreen. great to see this used so thank you. I really liked the older Japanese cars especially Mazda I was on my way to a garage sale where they were selling a bunch of stuff including model cars. when I saw this car in Surrey I had to stop and take a better look at it. the only time i seen it was videos pictures an a little red Tomica model I have of it. It was one of those cars I really did not think I would see in the wild And if you are wondering yes the garage sale was a success for me
‘a two-liter three-rotor making 300 horsepower and lb-ft of torque.’
A torqueless engine?
Normal torque output for the “chook cooker” I reckon. Chook cooker is Aussie slang for the dead end money pit called the rotary engine.
Er, no. The 20B was rated 298 lb-ft/402 Nm @ 3,000 rpm.
The side window treatment looks like they just stuck in whatever glass they had laying in the parts bin for some other car. I applaud the fact it rolls down, but if that’s the best they could do a fixed one piece glass would have been the way to go.(Sorry Zackman). Other then that, a nice looking car. Haven’t see one of these in many years.
I hope an enthusiast ended up getting their hands on this one. Mazda rotaries are amongst the few vintage Japanese cars that have a really gung-ho following, so there’s hope!
Until recently, I always assumed this iteration of Cosmo was never sold in North America. Has anyone seen one in the U.S. recently? Is this one of the few cars that has actually gone extinct here? I’ve wasted many thousands of hours of my life cruising eBay/AutoTrader/etc. classifieds for cars like this, and I’ve never seen even one single example. I can’t imagine the car seen here was a grey market import, so it’s safe to assume there’s still at least one original Canadian model extant.
I’m really digging this styling – the front end is strongly reminiscent of the ’73-’74 Plymouth Road Runner (which I’m also a fan of), the hockey stick lights recall Pontiacs from the early 60s, and the side window treatment is truly bizarre and Japanesey, but I think it works with the athletic proportions. Think of it as a glass B-pillar. Beautiful looking interior, too. I’ve never really seen too many Mazdas of this vintage up close, though, so I can’t say whether it’s just a nice picture or not. The red JDM car at the bottom is sexy as hell with the slim bumpers and those Cromodora-esque alloys.
If I’m remembering correctly, by the late 70s, Mazda’s rotary engine was totally decimated by emissions controls and barely eked out any more power than some contemporary four cylinders. Even the first generation RX-7 only managed 100HP here, and it’s respectable performance was largely a product of being very lightweight. The 34MPG rating is absurd – I seriously doubt any Wankel engine ever achieved that figure in normal driving, even going back to the single rotor in the NSU Spider!
I would have to say that it would be very likely that it is owned by a enthusiast because to my knowledge these were not shipped to North America when new. I believe it was purchased and shipped over
The ad in this article is from “Mazda Motors of Canada, Ltd.” Wikipedia says they were sold in the U.S. as the Cosmo from ’76-’78 and the EPA lists fuel economy ratings for a ’78 Cosmo (as far as their online database goes back), so I think it’s safe to assume they actually were sold here. But do any still exist? This might be the last one!
There are a few, mostly owned by enthusiasts, would be my guess.
Oh, they sold them here, alright. It was introduced in 1976, at the depths of the “rotary backlash”. I don’t know sales figures, but I know they didn’t sell very many.
I was friends with the dealer in Racine at the time, and he had a couple on the lot for a while. They were quite large, bigger than an RX-4, and nicely finished. I just never understood that middle window that totally broke up any styling flow the car had. The dealer said they were a pretty tough sell.
I’ve seen a couple in the flesh. The father of a friend of mine in Jr High had one in 1978 when they moved into the neighborhood. They also had a REPU. His father was an engineer, IIRC, and he thought the Rotary was the greatest revolution in ICE’s.
Years later when I was in college the local Mazda dealer had one in their showroom, and I’ve seen a few others back in the day.
The rotary’s U.S. power ratings were reduced by the switch from gross to net horsepower, just like everything else. In Japan, automakers continued to use gross figures until the latter ’80s, which skews comparisons; the late ’70s 13B was rated 135 PS (JIS gross) in Japan and generally 110 hp (SAE net) here, which ends up being about the same thing.
I’m not sure what contemporary four you’re comparing it to, really. Other than the short-lived and unlamented Vega Cosworth, very few emissions-controlled fours of the time mustered more than about 100 net horsepower. The 13B’s power in that form (Japan by 1978 had pretty heavy emissions standards as well) was about as powerful as the resurrected GM 3.8-liter V-6. Unfortunately, it was also about as thirsty.
I had a JDM model during an early 80s military tour in Japan – great vehicle – what surprised me most was its lightness. My first experience with a rotary – lacked torque but was pretty amazing wringing it out to 8K RPM.
The 80-89 model was very popular in Japan – and the fourth generation (last one) was a legitimate supercar with the 3-rotor engine. Unfortunately the bubble economy had burst and few were sold.
The coupe from the ’80s was sold here as the Mazda 929 coupe, but had a conventional engine. The tape deck, with a cassette door rather than the slot most cars had, was also unique and one of the features that endeared me to it. I saw an elderly man driving one some months ago, I think it’s the only one left now. As for teh last one that came out in the early ’90s, wasn’t that going to be part of the Amati line Mazda was planning to introduce as a rival to Lexus et al?
In Japan, the Cosmo was offered with 1.8 and 2.0-liter piston engines and for a while with a diesel, which sounds agonizingly slow (about 70 PS for a car weighing just as much as the RE models). The Cosmo didn’t go back to being rotary only (which it had been in its original incarnation) until the JC Cosmo in 1990.
The ’75 Cosmo (nope, wasn’t called RX-5 in the states) was just coming out when the wife and I were buying our first new car – a left-over ’74 RX-4 sedan. First thought on the Cosmo – ‘ugly’. That little side opera window design was just weird. Second thought – Why no power windows? It was supposed to be a ‘luxury coupe’ after all. The car was pretty much a failure from the get-go.
Side window cleaned up. It looks a bit Whitegoods Celica to me in this version though.
Try sloping the B post forward (same angle) and add a Hofmeister Kink. Just my .02.
I’m beginning to see why they did that funky window thing.
These were surprisingly popular in the Japanese domestic market for a while, although I think the Toyota Celica XX (Supra) and later the Soarer basically ate their lunch. Ironically, Toyo Kogyo had expected the Cosmo would be primarily for the American market, but it didn’t work out that way.
Not all of these had rotary engines; in Japan and elsewhere, you could still get 1.8 and 2.0 piston engines (as other commenters have mentioned, only the latter were offered in some export markets) and for a while a diesel, although who bought the diesel version is unclear. The subsequent HC Cosmo (from late 1981 to 1989) also offered reciprocating and diesel options, although the JC Cosmo was again rotary-only, with either the two-rotor, twin-turbo 13B or the 20B three-rotor.
I have never once seen one of these in the wild–in fact I wasn’t aware they were sold in the USA. Being that I was born in ’80 I didn’t coexist with their sale period, but you’d think there would have been a few kicking around. I guess they were that unpopular?
Personally, though, I quite enjoy the styling. The “glass opera window” works for me, because if you try to take it out, then you end up with a very Vega-esque roofline profile. Just looks derivative. Whereas the wireframe opera window, bizarre though it may be, is very memorable! Also probably provides a little support to what is otherwise a very long hardtop opening, which I’m sure would have structural issues otherwise. And both the nose and tail are pretty distinctive on their own.
I do also wish we got the following cars. I know the 80’s Cosmo was also known as the 929 coupe in some markets, presumably when equipped with a piston rather than rotary engine. Why couldn’t we have had that in the USA? As to the final one, I know that Mazda was planning on introducing Eunos as a competitor to Lexus/Acura/Infiniti, but backed out. One wonders if the final Cosmo would have been one of the launch Eunos models? It definitely shares some similarities with the Lexus SC and would have been a natural competitor in the upscale 2+2 grand tourer market. A shame that didn’t play out.
I remember looking at these as a kid with my Dad at the Sacramento Mazda dealership on Fulton Ave; always liked them and my Dad thought it was fabulous. Rare as the proverbial hen’s teeth, even at the time. They were launched in NA at Mazda’s low ebb following the anti-Rotary backlash. My Dad was interested in the potential of great deals on RX4s, but the low mpg scared him off. Mazda’s US comeback came a year later with the highly conventional GLC (323)…
Mazda initially made its name in the US with the RX2, which the car mags hailed as a poor man’s BMW. Mazda had launched in Canada years earlier with the Bertone-bodied 1500s in the mid-60s (I’d see them fairly often living in Vancouver in the mid/late 80s; remember seeing one parked near my folks place as late as 2000) and was not as typecast for the Rotary thing as the brand was better established, so survived the anti-Rotary years in better shape with a more balanced line of piston 616s, 808s, etc. alongside the RX2s and RX3s. Interestingly, Mazda is proportionately bigger in Canada than in the US to this day, with the Mazda 3 almost always in the top 5 sellers.
They were a dud in North America, but the Japanese went nuts for these when they first came out. Super cheap road tax for a fast car in the same luxury bracket as a Toyota Crown. That was a Mazda first if you ignore the horrid “Mazda” Roadpacer. It was a massive success in the home market that was followed directly by the first RX-7 that sold in similar success for the same reasoning.
I somehow missed this the first time around and am astounded this was sold in the US, I’ve never seen one that I can recall. I kind of like it, the side window doesn’t bother me, but rather saves the whole thing from anonymity. Quite interesting!