Mazda Cosmo Sport 110 (1967 - 1972)

Introduction

The Mazda Cosmo Sport 110 burst on to the scene in prototype form in 1964, and caught the European motor industry unawares. But then, the early years of the Japanese motor industry were laced with some amazing cars - so when Mazda decided to build a sports car, it really went for broke. The Cosmo was powered by a twin-rotor Wankel engine, making it the world’s first twin-rotor production car, beating the NSU Ro80 into production by several months.

Full production began in May 1967 remained in production for a mere five years. It was also a slow burner, being built at the rate of one per day. The Cosmo suffered from the usual problems associated with the rotary design, such as tip wear, but when it was running, the Cosmo was smooth and exciting to drive, despite duff handling. Rare and expensive now, you’ll pay handsomely for an original Cosmo now.