1971-1978 Mazda RX-3 / Savanna

Production Period: 1971-1978

No company was more committed to the Wankel engine than Mazda, even in the wake of NSU's fatal miscalculations with Ro80. They reckoned they had got the Wankel right and pursued all possibilities - saloons, coupes, estates and even delivery trucks - with rotary power. The RX3 was simply Mazda's lower mid-range saloon and coupe, fitted with a 100 bhp (or in some markets, a 120 bhp) super-smooth twin-rotary Wankel engine. Unlike the Ro80, these Mazdas were entirely conventional, typically Japanese cars of the era, complete with baroque styling, vague steering and simple rear suspension. The RX3 had a 10 mph top speed advantage over its piston-engined counterpart, the 818, and was much quicker accelerating through the gears. The trade-off was the fuel consumption: RX3 drivers had to be very careful even to get 20 mpg out of their cars, which was hardly what one would have expected from a small family saloon.

The Rx-3 has always been one of the Mazda rotary enthusiasts' favourite models -- the coupè and sedan's lines were some of the best of the day. The RX-3 was first introduced with the smaller 10A engine and four-speed gearbox in 1971, and was soon joined by an automatic-equipped version and the Sport Wagon -- the world's first rotary engine-equpped station wagon. The RX-3 also appeard in GT version and came fitted with the bigger 12A and five-speed gearbox as found in the higher-spec GSII RX-2s.