As one of the first few Mazda’s to make it to the States, the RX-2 was highly differentiated by the Wankel rotary 12A engine. A startling fact is that on the other side of the Pacific, the RX-2 was originally offered as the rotary option to the Mazda Capella, more commonly known to us Americans as the Mazda 6-series. It was not until the car made it to this side of the Pacific that it was sold as the RX-series.

The 12A engine displaced a little more than 1.1-liters but made about 120hp and 115ft/lb of torque. In it’s day automotive sources compared it favorably against straight-6’s due to the smooth power range and impressive response. Unfortunately, that same engine was also notoriously plagued with reliability issues. Failed seals, o-rings and worn out rotor tips caused many of the vehicles to be scrapped before they really had a chance. But don’t tell that to Andy who’s had his RX-2 comfortably cruising the roads since 1972.

Andy’s RX-2 is all original from chrome bumper to chrome bumper and he has begun his full restoration, beginning with the exterior of the car. Even after 35 years, the original paint still radiates after a quick buff and shine. The chrome trim pieces were in all the right places and the only modification thus far is the Puerto Rican flag flown proudly on his dashboard.

For the feature, we met him near the warehouse district of the city and after some light sprinkling from the mixture of clouds looming overhead, we headed down to the riverside of the Minneapolis / St. Paul border for a quick run through the curves. Although start-up on these old rotaries are can be a little bit rough especially in such a quick change in weather, the little RX-2 breathed quite well through the carburetors after a good warm-up.

The RX-2 had no problems quickly dancing through each bend with it’s continual smooth purring through all each of the four gears. Unfortunately the fun had to come to an end as the rain started really pouring and Andy became concerned that more harsh weather was on it’s way. (To give him credit, our photography equipment was also a concern.)

In that quick run through the city, we had a chance to feel how exhilarating it must have been to be on the forefront of a revolution in engine technology. As the first platform for the Wankel rotary engines to be widely raced, the RX-2 was the bridge between the first mass-produced Wankel-powered Cosmo Sport and the highly successful, smaller and sportier, RX-3. Back in the early 1970’s, the RX-2 lead some heavy battles against the Skyline GT-R and the 12A engine went on to enable the RX-3 to prevent the GT-R from winning 50 consecutive Japanese Grand Prix races.

On the international front, Mazda has also proven rotary technology to be highly successful being the first team from Japan to have finished the entire 24-hours of the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in 1974. Almost twenty years later, in 1991, Mazda further ingrained their rotary technology as reliable and fast as it took the 787B 2.6-liter (rated 4.7-liters by the FIA formula) to claim victory, overtaking Mercedes within the final three hours of the race. To date, Mazda still holds the dual title of the only non-piston powered race car and first and only Japanese manufacturer to ever win Le Mans. The following year, the rules were changed to effectively ban Mazda from entering Le Mans with rotary technology.

Although RX-2’s are quite rare to find these days, it is still possible to get rotary-power in the latest rendition of the RX-series. Mazda continues to be the only car manufacturer that mass-produces vehicles with the Wankel rotary engine. State-side, it all started with the Capella RX-2.

Rumors are floating around that Mazda is looking to introduce a new RX-series in 2010. Will it really happen? No one knows for sure yet… But from what we have heard, keep your eyes on the Tokyo Auto Salon 2010.

We arrived in the mid-afternoon, hours before the general public, and grabbed our press passes from the booth. The other members of the press and models were all anxious to get inside the gates. Like an over-caffeinated mob, everyone waited through the sound of burning rubber and the smell of high octane gasoline as it hung in the air. Only a hundred yards away the Formula D Pro-AM drift racers had already begun their warm up.

Outside the gates the energy coming from the event could already be felt. The music was loud and the cars glittered in all their glory with the afternoon sun beating down on them. The owners finished up the last details on their cars, shined up the tires and gave them one quick final wipe-down.

Getting there early was imperative so that our photographer could snap some clean shots of the cars well before the majority of the crowd began to pile in. After the first run through, it wasn’t hard to see that the true Japanese classic cars were few and far between. Even at an event such as Hot Import Nights where Japanese makes hold reign, it really starts to settle in that prime features of the golden days of Japanese cars are dwindling.

Of the hundreds of vehicles at the show, there were only a handful of cars from the pre-1980’s era, including a couple of Datsun Z’s and a Mazda RX-2, the car with the first rotary ever to come stateside. Their owners were all standing nearby and after a quick talk with each of them it was impressive to find that most of them had owned the cars since they were sixteen! (The owner of the RX-2 actually had a scrap book detailing with pictures the immense amount of work that it took to restore the vehicle.)

An unfortunate part of the search for the classics was the wishful thinking of seeing a few of them in the drifting competition. Although the drift event was quite furious, not even an AE86 made an appearance.

As the day quickly turned to night, it was becoming more obvious that the car scene doesn’t always stop to remember the originals that pushed the scene to where it is today. Those who appreciate the classics are a rare breed indeed. But those that understand where the culture has come from hold a truly unique love for the cars.

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Why don’t we feature any of the other cars from HIN? Because you can find all the other cars featured everywhere else on the internet. Here at JDM Origins Magazine we look beyond the big rims and flashy stickers: we focus purely on the classics.