Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Mazda was pumping out four-rotor race cars for IMSA, Le Mans, and the Japanese Sports Prototype championship, among other races. One of the best of Mazda’s killer race cars was the RX-792P IMSA racer, of which only three were ever made. One of those three—ironically, the third of them to be made— is now for sale and if you want to be its next owner, it will cost you $1.5 million.
This specific Mazda RX-720P four-rotor racer—chassis RX792P003—is currently owned by Jim Downing, who has fixed, maintained, and restored the 31-year-old IMSA car for the past few years. However, despite having maintained it, and replaced a few parts, the paint is still original, so it still looks like it did when it was new.
The star of the show is its engine, though. It’s a 2.6-liter four-rotor engine with 670 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, revs to 9,000 rpm, and is paired with a manual transmission. All in a body that only weighs 1,850 pounds. Along the way to redline, the four-rotor Mazda engine makes a sensational, eardrum-shredding noise. Rotary engines make such a unique noise and, while I understand why no one really uses them anymore, I wish some manufacturers still used them in racing.
While the car is a fully functional race car, and it’s been driven at Road Atlanta by Downing and his team, it’s never actually been used as a race car. Whoever does end up buying this car, I do hope they actually take it to the track and use it. I hope it doesn’t become just another piece in an uber-expensive collection. A race car this cool, and with this special of an engine, needs to be used as such, while gracing the public with its soulful noise.
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