The little-known Mazda Coupé R130 Luce Rotary
10/16/2012
After the Mazda Cosmo 110 S in 1967 and the R100 Coupé in July 1968, Mazda presented a third Wankel model in October 1969, the R130 Coupé with a twin-disc Wankel engine with 126 hp and a top speed of 190 km/h. Initially, Mazda also wanted to cause a sensation in the export market with the R130.
The elegant coupé had a length of 4.585 meters and weighed 1,255 kg. The Wankel engine had a chamber volume of 2 x 655 cm3 and a compression ratio of 9.1:1. The torque of 175 Nm at 3,500 rpm provided sufficient elasticity even with five passengers. Only the 65-liter tank was probably empty all too quickly when the power was used.
Fewer than 1,000 examples of this front-wheel drive coupé, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in an extremely attractive and elegant style, were produced, with only privately imported vehicles reaching Europe. Today, the remaining R130s are collector's cars and sought-after rarities.
The (Japanese) brochure of the Mazda R130 coupé can of course be found in the Zwischengas archive, as can the press release from 1969.
We recently published an extensive report with many pictures about Felix Wankel, his work and the vehicles that benefited from "his" engine.
