The Mazda Cosmo Was Largely Overlooked, Yet Groundbreaking
The Mazda Cosmo made a big impact on the automotive world with its rotary engine.
Written by Alexandra Maloney
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
While some impressive things debut with a big splash, others simply fly under the radar, quiet but successful. One example of this phenomenon in the automotive world is the Mazda Cosmo, a car that was in production from 1967 up to 1996.
The car had such great success,
Mazda
even teased a modern car revival
in the early 2000s, which unfortunately never came to fruition. Despite that, the Mazda Cosmo left a lasting legacy on the car industry, although oftentimes its impact is overlooked. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to reminisce on what was with the Cosmo. History of the Mazda Cosmo
The first generation of the Mazda Cosmo was produced from 1967 to 1972. According to
HotCars
, the prototype was unveiled in 1964 at the Tokyo Motor Show and called the Cosmo Sport. Eighty test models of the Cosmo were produced for both Mazda and dealerships to try out. After a few years of testing, it was officially released to the public in 1967, marketed as an affordable sports car
.Following the initial Mazda Cosmo, Mazda released a second, slightly different version the Cosmo, coined the Cosmo AP, or Cosmo anti-pollution in 1975. The Cosmo AP was marketed as less of a sports car and more of a specialty car, one that helped the environment.
The Cosmo AP was the model we saw for most of the car’s lifetime, as it got a facelift for a second generation in 1981, then another in 1990. The fourth and final generation of the Cosmo AP was produced in Japan in 1996, and was marketed as the JC Cosmo.
The car’s legacy held throughout the years, as an original 1967 Mazda Cosmo was later sold at auction for $264,000, making it one of the
most expensive Japanese cars
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Mazda Cosmo interesting features and details
Where the Mazda Cosmo was really unique was in its engine. Our very first taste of the Cosmo way back in 1967, the Cosmo Sport, was powered by a rotary engine. It was one of the first production sports cars in the world to feature a two-rotor Wankel rotary engine.
According to
Top Speed
, the rotary engine produced 103 hp in the Series I Cosmo Sport and 128 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque in the Series II Cosmo Sport. Top speeds were 115 mph and 120 mph and the Cosmo Sport got impressive 15-inch wheels, plus power brakes.Mazda was so proud of the Cosmo Sport the company even took it to try its hand at racing, a year after launch, in 1968. Two Cosmo Sports entered the 84-hour Marathon de la Route. While one couldn’t finish the race, the other came in fourth place overall.
The high finish in the race proved to Mazda, and the rest of the automotive world, the rotary engine was reliable and could deliver great performance.
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The teased Mazda Cosmo comeback
In 2002, Mazda tossed around the idea of a modern day version of the iconic, first generation Cosmo Sport. The first time around the Cosmo Sport changed the automotive world with the first effective and fast rotary engine, so who knew what the comeback might bring.
At the 2002 Tokyo Motor Show, where the original Cosmo was unveiled, plans for a Mazda Cosmo 21 were revealed. Unfortunately, the car never got further than the motor show. While the real reason it never made a comeback has never been officially stated, car critics speculate Mazda didn’t want the original Cosmo’s reputation to be ruined by a new car that would be one of many in the modern day automotive world.
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