History of the Mazda RX

The first Mazda RX models appeared in the late 1960s as prototype vehicles. Sales in Japan began in 1968 and sales in the U.S. began in 1970 with the rotary powered R100. Later that year the RX-2 was introduced as a 1971 model. Road Test, a popular automotive magazine at the time, named the RX-2 the 1972 Import Car-of-the-Year. The next RX model the RX-3 debuted in 1972, available as a sedan, coupe and wagon. For 1974 Mazda debuted the RX-4 as a sedan and wagon followed by the Rotary Pickup. In 1975, Mazda introduced the Cosmo, named after the 1967 Cosmo Sport, Mazda's first commercialized rotary engine car.

The legendary RX-7 debuted in 1978 as a 1979 model. It got a face-lift in 1980 for the 1981 MY. The fuel injected 13B rotary was added in 1983 for the 1984 MY RX-7 GSL-SE. The second-generation RX-7 appeared in 1985 with an optional 13B rotary engine featuring Twin-Scroll Turbo and an inter-cooler. The third-generation RX-7, equipped with all-wheel double-wishbone suspensions with a newly-developed dynamic geometry control mechanism, was launched in 1992 as a 1993 MY. It was discontinued in the U.S after 1995 although production for the domestic Japanese market continued with updates. Production on the third generation RX-7 discontinued in 2002.


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