Milestone Mazda Official Blog
What year did Mazda produce its first car?
By Product Expert | Posted in Mazda News on Monday, July 24th, 2017 at 4:11 pmMazda has a rich legacy of innovation, with it producing a multitude of cars that broke new ground for the automotive industry. The Japanese automaker dates back to 1920, when at the time it manufactured machine tools. In 1930, Mazda first started making vehicles with the introduction of the Mazda-Go autorickshaw. Mazda’s first “real” car was the Mazda R360 — a two-door, four-seat coupe. It was introduced in 1960 and followed by the Mazda Carol in 1962.
1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S and World’s First Rotary Engine
Mazda really took off when it released the groundbreaking Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S in 1967. It was not only Mazda’s first sports car, but also the first car in the world to ever have a twin-rotor, rotary engine. In developing and designing the engine, Mazda assembled a team of their most talented engineers — known as the 47 Samurai. The production of the Cosmo Sport was especially remarkable when considering that Mazda had been known only for its small passenger cars and work trucks to that point.
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While only 1,176 production Cosmo Sport models would be built, its legacy would stretch much further. From the earliest races, such as the 84-hour Marathon de la Route in 1968, Mazda never stopped challenging its engineers and designers to keep improving their craft. Eventually, those efforts would spawn championship-winning motorsports programs all over the world, as well as leading the way for subsequent sports cars that focused on lightweight performance over brute strength.
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Mazda’s Continued Advancements in Engine Technology
The innovation that Mazda exhibited 50 years ago with the first twin-rotor, rotary engine in the Cosmo Sport still continues today. Mazda’s SKYACTIV® Technology continues to delight drivers and passengers with a human-centric focus on the entire driving experience. When Mazda introduced its SKYACTIV®-Engine family, no other gasoline-powered production vehicle could operate with a 14.0:1 compression ratio — the world’s highest. Also, the lightweight, rigid SKYACTIV®-Chassis and SKYACTIV®-Body units allow Mazda vehicles to thrill the driver and passengers as much as protect them.
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