1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S Coupe

Mazda had a revolutionary Felix Wankel-designed dual rotor passenger-car engine, and they wanted a worthy vehicle to showcase this technology. What they came up with was the Cosmo 110 Sport. These hand-built sports cars helped propel Mazda to the world's automotive stage. By the end of its six-year production run, just 1,519 examples were built.

The Cosmo was a low-production 'halo' car that had bold styling and independent character.

This particular example was spotted in a trailer on a small car lot in Kofu City (near Tokoy) in 1989 by Paul Kulikowski, an American working in Japan. Mr. Kulikowski negotiated the purchase of the nearly complete and undamaged Cosmo along with a host of spare parts. The following year, the car was shipped home. Once in the US, the car remained in storage for another 15 years before its restoration was undertaken. The car was acquired prior to commencing restoration. The work spanned four years, and upon completion, it was finished in the original white with houndstooth upholstery. Since completion, the car has had roughly 150 km added to its odometer.

The Dual-Rotor Wankel-designed Rotary engine displaces 982cc and is fitted with a Hitachi 4-barrel carburetor. The 110 horsepower is sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. There are disc brakes in the front and hydraulic drums in the back.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2014