Deep in the Mazda Basement
Deep in the Mazda Basement
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Buried deep beneath the bowels of Mazda's R&D headquarters in Irvine, CA lies a treasure trove of Zoom-Zoom goodies. Once inside the basement, guests are treated to an intimate encounter with everything from LeMans winning endurance racecars like the legendary 787, to a host of rotary powered RX-7 sports cars of both the racetrack and road-going variety. There are also a few scale models from years past; not to mention a whole lot of Miatas. The Mazda Miata featured in the foreground is the Miata Speedster showcar, and is eaisly distinguished by a shorter windshield as well as early Fast and the Furious-inspired bodywork.
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Since this is a working research and development office, it was no surprise to see a pallet of industrial clay sitting at the far end of the Mazda dream garage meant for the modelers upstairs. However, the scale Miata in various states of refinement sitting on top was quite the easter egg, giving a deeper look into the steps the sculptor will take to bring their vision to a three dimensional reality.
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Speaking of scale models, tucked away in the corner, hidden behind a stack of RX-7 rims and tires were a few more finished versions of Mazda's scale proposals. Items like a Mazda6 wagon and a few scaled-down multi-people movers gave a glimpse into what might have been for the manufacturer from Hiroshima. Note the Furai at the bottom, with the full size version going up in flames, this could be the only one in the world.
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Remember the Mazdaspeed Protege? Shortly after Mazda released the first affordable four door compact with an MP3 player, they decided to turn up the boost with a turbocharged version from the factory. This one with its Racing Hart rims and engine bay dress up kit looks like it might have seen SEMA duty in its earlier days.
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What you see here is the original Club Racer Miata that Mazda pulled the covers off of at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, officially introducing the world to the future of Japanese-built classic British-style lightweight sports cars.
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The RX-7 has been considered one of the last great Japanese sportscars, ever since they stopped coming to the U.S. The classic rotary experimental formula made up of a turbocharged two rotor motor up front sending power straight to the rear wheels packaged inside a sleek aerodynamic shell is a hit no matter what generation. Down in the Basement you will find both FC and FD RX-7s as well as a bright orange pace car and a very limited production left hand drive gunmetal Spirit R.
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It is truly a pity that Mazda never saw fit to bring the Miata M-Coupe to market. The sleek lines formed by the fixed roof translate well with the traditional roadster body, but then what would a Miata be without wind in your face and bugs in your teeth?
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As unassuming as this little Miata racer looks, it is actually a very important piece of the MX-5's timeline. That's because the diminutive white Mazda seen here was the first one ever outfitted to go racing. It makes you wonder if they knew what was going to come when they finished bolting in that roll cage. After all, more Mazdas are road raced than any other car, and a lot of that can be attributed to #6.
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Miatas galore! Every generation, every iteration and even a few one-off show cars can be found housed inside the Mazda R&D Basement.
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If rarity is something that excites you then this trio of classic Mazdas will not disappoint. Starting with the right hand drive Eunos Cosmo (not even a Mazda), this luxury coupe from the 1990s is most notable for its power plant, an ultra rare and highly sought after twin turbocharged three rotor dubbed the 20B. The 1976 Mazda GLC was optioned with every box checked on the order form in 1976 and today the bright yellow hatchback shows only 7500 miles on the odometer. However, the Cosmo on the end is the car that ushered in the era of lightweight rotary powered sports cars from Japan back in 1967.
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The first thing you see after descending the sterilized white staircase leading down to the Basement is the gorgeous Mazda RX-7 GTO, wearing the eye catching ARTNATURE blue and yellow livery. The RX-7 GTO ran in the 1994 24 Hours of LeMans.
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To some, the word "Mazda" means racing, and the 787 and 757 endurance racers are no exception. Did you know that Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to take home the overall win at the coveted 24 Hours of LeMans?
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Even more racecars, this time based on the road going RX-7. In their day, these machines tore up the tracks in the IMSA competition. These days the rotary powered racers save their strength for vintage motorsport events as well as spending some time doing car show duty.
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Here you can see the sister car to the LeMans-winning orage and green 787/B Group C sports car, this time wearing the more traditional blue and white Mazda livery, sitting on blocks. Beside it sits a sleek looking RX-792P, whose name comes from the RX-7 road car, the 1992 season in which it raced, and the fact that it is a prototype competing in the IMSA GTP competition. Hiding behind the blue pole an MXR-01 pokes its nose out, the MX did not experience the same success as the 787 which ran the year before. Unlike previous rotary powered prototypes, this one was powered by a V10.
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Mazda was a presence on the prototpye scene with their mighty Group C competitors, long before the success of other Japanese automakers in the 1990s. It was cars like the FA RX-7 and RX-3 Savanna that the brand from Japan used to cut their teeth in early grassroots wheel-to-wheel competition.
source: http://www.autobytel.com/mazda/news/...0260/?id=32379
