1969 Mazda Cosmo Sport Series II L10B Coupe

The Mazda Cosmo entered production in 1967. It was built by the Mazda Motor Corporation, which had been founded in the 1920s, however, it did not commence series production of passenger cars until 1960. Four years later, they introduced their first rotary-engined prototype, having acquired the rights to produce NSU's Wankel-designed engines.

In 1966, Mazda introduced its first rotary car, the Cosmo L10A, which entered production the following year. It was the company's flagship model and was powered by a twin-rotor engine displacing 982cc and offering 110 horsepower. In July of 1968, a more powerful version was introduced, the L10B, which rested on a longer wheelbase.

When production of the Cosmo was phased out in 1972, 1,519 examples had been produced, of which 1,176 of which were the L10B version.

This particular example is a Cosmo Series II example, which was delivered new in 1969 to a Mazda employee in Mazda's home city of Hiroshima, Japan. In 2012, ownership passed to Kaneaki Miwa, the owner of Daiya Auto Inc. in Nagoya. In October 2014, it was acquired by its current Southern California owner.

This car is finished in white over a black and white hounds-tooth interior. It has covered 28,400 km since new and has appeared in just one show, the 2016 San Marino Motor Classic, where it won the Rotary Club Special Award.

This Cosmo Series II is fitted with factory air-conditioning. The 982cc dual-Rotor Wankel-Designed Rotary engine is fitted with a Hitachi 4-barrel carburetor and produces 128 horsepower. There is a five-speed manual gearbox, front disc brakes, and hydraulic drums in the rear.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2017