Mazda · 1967–1995

Mazda Cosmo

The Mazda Cosmo (マツダ・コスモ, Matsuda Kosumo) is an automobile produced by Mazda from 1967 to 1995. During its production run, the Cosmo served as a "halo" vehicle for Mazda, with the first Cosmo successfully launching the Mazda Wankel engine. The final generation of the Cosmo served as Mazda's flagship vehicle in Japan, sold as the Eunos Cosmo through its luxury Eunos division in Japan. Mazda decided on the name "cosmo", reflecting international cultural fascination with the Space Race. The company wanted to showcase the Mazda Wankel engine as forward-thinking, with focus on future developments and technology.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Series L10A/L10B (1967–1972)

The first Mazda to bear the Cosmo name (called the 110S on models intended for export) was (along with the NSU Ro80) one of the first production cars to feature a 2-rotor Wankel engine. A prototype was presented at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show, one month before the 1964 Summer Olympics, and after the introduction of the NSU Spider at the Frankfurt Motor Show; 80 pre-production Cosmos were produced for the Mazda test department (20) and for dealership testing (60) between 1965 and 1966. Full production began in May 1967 and lasted through 1972, though Cosmos were hand-built at a rate of approximately one per day, for a total of 1,176 (343 Series I cars and 833 Series II cars). The car was also featured in the show The Return of Ultraman. Cosmos were built in five batches: Racing. In 1968, Mazda went racing with the Cosmo. They selected one of the most grueling tests in Europe to prove the reliability of the rotary engine, the 84-hour Marathon de la Route at the legendary Nürburgring circuit in Germany. Two mostly stock Cosmos were entered, along with 58 other cars. One major change to the cars' 10A engines was the addition of a novel side- and peripheral-port intake system: A butterfly valve switched from the side to the peripheral port as RPM increased. The engines were limited to 130 PS (96 kW) to improve durability. The cars ran together in fourth and fifth place for most of the race, but the all-Japanese car was retired with axle damage in the 82nd hour. The other car, driven by Belgians, completed the race in fourth overall. This was to be the only racing outing for the Cosmo—the next Mazda race car would be a Familia Rotary (R100). Series I. The Series I/L10A Cosmo was powered by a 0810 two-rotor engine with 982 cc of displacement and produced about 110 hp (thus the 1

Series CD (1975–1981)

The second generation CD Cosmo appeared in 1975 and lasted until 1981. It was known as the Cosmo AP (Anti-Pollution) in Japan, and sold internationally as the Mazda RX-5, though in some export markets its piston-powered counterpart was called the Mazda 121 (a name later applied to Mazda's subcompact model). The anti-pollution label reflected that the cars were able to meet the strict, 1976 Japanese emissions standards, thanks to the installation of a thermal reactor which kept hydrocarbon levels down. The CD Cosmo/RX-5 series was positioned as a personal luxury car, with a focus on comfort and high equipment levels rather than outright sportiness. When introduced, it had a fastback bodystyle with three side windows; the one just behind the B-pillar could be wound down. Inspired by the US market, in particular the 1970s era Lincoln Continental, a notchback coupé model called the Landau appeared in early 1977. Called the Cosmo L in Japan, it included an opera window and padded vinyl roof covering. Neither body style found many international buyers; it was, however, an enormous success in Japan where over 55,000 were sold in the first year alone and effectively saved Mazda from financial disaster. This new model competed with the Toyota Crown, Nissan Cedric, Nissan Gloria, and the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda coupés newly introduced to Japan. Whilst the series-1 (75-78) was exported, the series-2 (79-81) was a JDM only. Mazda America used the Cosmo name and offered it from 1976 through 1978, fitted with the 13B rotary engine. In the United States, the Cosmo was replaced by the smaller, lighter, and sportier Mazda RX-7. Due to its poor sales as an export, the Series II version, built from 1979, was not exported and remained a Japanese domestic sale only. In Europe, the RX-5 sa

Series HB (1981–1989)

The third generation HB Cosmo from September 1981 shared the Mazda HB chassis with its twin, the Mazda Luce. Some versions of both HB cars were sold overseas as the Mazda 929. The HB Cosmo was offered as a coupé (also called two door hardtop), as a sleek frameless window sedan (also called four door hardtop), and as a formal pillared sedan (known in Japan as saloon). The HB Cosmo is the 1st of two only cars in automotive history to offer a choice of gasoline and diesel piston engines, or rotary engines, and this was the last generation Cosmo to be exported. The design was smoothed out, rectilinear, with large glass surfaces and had a drag coefficient of Cd=0.32, the lowest in the world at the time of introduction. Both the Cosmo sedan and four door hardtops were badge engineered versions of their respective Luce counterparts, with the Cosmo models sold at an exclusive dealership called Mazda Auto, while the Luce was sold at previously established Japanese Mazda dealerships. Later in 1991, Mazda Auto locations were renamed Eunos. The two door HB coupé however was only sold in Japan as a Cosmo. The range was facelifted in October 1983, at which time the fuel injected 13B-SI engine was introduced and the four-door hardtop switched from pop-up to fixed headlights. During 1984, the non-GT coupés also switched to fixed headlamps (domestic Japanese market; export markets differ in specifications and badge combinations). When the FC series Mazda Savanna RX-7 was introduced in 1986 internationally, this series Cosmo coupé retained its top position as Mazda's largest rotary powered personal luxury car, with a comfortable backseat, trunk, and every luxury amenity available, while adopting the retractable headlights from the RX-7. Mazda offered three different rotary engines for th

Series JC (Eunos Cosmo, 1990–1995)

The Eunos Cosmo (loosely based on the 1985 MX-03 concept car) started production in 1990 on the new JC platform. The Eunos Cosmo was the top-line touring flagship of the Eunos luxury channel. It is the only Mazda to use a triple-rotor engine. The car was a 2+2 coupé and was loaded with power amenities and other luxuries. Following the Japanese luxury theme, only an electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission was available that could be placed in manual shift mode and would change the gear selection in the dashboard display from PRNDSL for automatic transmission operation and PRND321 for manual transmission use. Two engines were available, and both were equipped with twin sequential turbochargers; the two-rotor 13B-RE and the three-rotor 20B-RE. The triple rotor 20B-RE had 2 litres (1962 cc) of displacement, making it the largest capacity rotary offered for sale by Mazda. It produces 280 PS (206 kW; 276 hp) and 403 N⋅m (297 lb⋅ft) of torque with twin turbochargers sourced from Hitachi. Two trim packages were offered; the Type-S (Sport) which offered a firm suspension consisting of control arms in the front and a multilink rear suspension, with cloth inserts added to the leather interior and a full length center console accommodating four passengers, or Type-E (Elegant) which offered a softer-tuned suspension and full leather upholstery. The top line spec being the Type-E.CCS (car control system) that incorporated the first JDM Sat-Nav system & touch screen controlled CRT. The JC series Cosmo set several firsts in automotive history. Its two rotor 13B-RE and three rotor 20B-RE engines were the first Japanese-built, series production twin sequential turbo systems to be offered for sale on any car. The internationally known FD series RX-7 didn't receive it's u

Cosmo 21 Concept (2002)

At the 2002 Tokyo Auto Salon, Mazda presented the Cosmo 21, a retro styled 21st century reinterpretation of the original Cosmo 110s of 1967 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Cosmo. Based on Mazda's current generation (at the time) of MX-5 (NB), the concept was styled and constructed by Mazda subsidiaries M'z IF (styling) and Mazda Sangyo (construction), and closely resembled the original Cosmo. The engine of the MX-5 was replaced by an early version of the Renesis rotary engine, later found in the Mazda RX-8. The Cosmo 21 was revealed around the same time as many other retro style cars, including the Volkswagen New Beetle and the New Mini, adding to the growing list of retro style cars being produced in this era. Rumours of the Cosmo 21 entering limited production circulated in Japan, but the car remained purely a concept.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name

Mazda Cosmo

Manufacturer

Mazda

Production

1967–1995

Class

Sports car (1967–1981), Mid-size car (1981–1989), Grand tourer (1990–1995)

Layout

Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive

Assembly

Japan: Hiroshima (Hiroshima Assembly)

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

• Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q607198CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_CosmoCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1371986121 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1968_Mazda_Cosmo-Sport_01.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Mytho88 · retrieved 2026-10-01
• Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.

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