Best of 2019: For Those Morning When You Need A Jolt, How About A Road Racing Rotary?


Best of 2019: For Those Morning When You Need A Jolt, How About A Road Racing Rotary?

It’s a bit difficult to see how Mazda is making a rotary engine the prime component in a hybrid EV program. They are, it’s coming in a couple of years, but it’s not what BangShifters picture when they think of rotary power. We think of RX-7s that belch fire with the turbo pushing those rotors around. We think of the wild-ass RX-3 drag cars that usually pop up in Australian racing footage that always seem to be on the ragged edge of controllability. And then we think of all the formerly rotary-powered Mazdas that have taken the one huge Chevrolet pill down the throat, half of them now throwing the tail end sideways. You can’t blame anyone for making that swap, it works, but still…

This car belongs to Dirk Gilessen and the footage is from the Oldtimer Weekend at the Nurburgring, which is one of those cool deals where old race cars that otherwise would be sitting somewhere, preserved, and ready for inspection get to come out and put the power to the pavement in the manner they are used to. This RX-3 is a wicked sounding screamer at full chat, but hearing this little beasty idling at nearly three thousand RPM reminds you just how highly strung these cars really are!


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