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The Mazda Cosmo was a Grand Tourer produced from 1967-1995. There have been four generations and this page is the first generation.

Overview[]

The Cosmo was first showed off at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show. This was just prototype, which was yet to show to the ars full potential.

Engine[]

Series I[]

The engine for the first version, was a 0810 2-Rotar engine with 982 cc of displacement. It produced about 110 hp and used a Hitachi 4-barrel carburetor. The odd thing was It's ignition design - two spark per chamber with dual distributors. A 4-speed manual transmission and 14 in (335 mm) tires and wheels were standard.

Series II[]

This series of the Cosmo, was introduced in July 1968. This version had a more powerful 0813 engine, which produced about 128 hp (95 kW), with 15 in wheels and a 5-speed manual transmission.

1975 - 1981[]

The second generation CD Cosmo appeared in 1975 and lasted until 1981. It was known as the Cosmo AP 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).

Mazda America used the Mazda Cosmo name and offered it from 1976 through 1978. The CD Cosmo/RX-5 series was a flop internationally as Mazda tried too hard to "americanize" the car. It was however an enormous success in Japan where over 55,000 where sold in the first year alone. Due to its poor sales as an export, the series-II version from 79-81 was not exported and remained a Japanese domestic sale only.

The Cosmo was Mazda's 'large' compact rotary coupe and based on the Mazda RX-4 floorpan and mechanics, but slightly heavier due to body design and more luxurious appointments, including a 5-link rear suspension and rear disc brakes. It was available with the 12A and 13B engines.

A piston engine version, the Cosmo 1800, used a 1769 cc (80x88 mm) straight-4 SOHC engine that produced 100 hp (75 kW) and 110 lb·ft (149 N·m).

1981 - 1989[]

The third generation HB Cosmo from 1981 shared the Mazda HB chassis with its twin, the Mazda Luce (marketed overseas as the Mazda 929). The HB Cosmo was available as a coupe, hardtop and sedan. Its Mazda Luce counterpart was not available in coupe form. The HB Cosmo/Luce was the only car in automotive history to offer a choice of both Gasoline and Diesel piston engines and Rotary engines.

Mazda offered three different rotary engines for the HB series. A 12A-SPI, 12A-turbo and 13B-RESI. The latter available with automatic transmission only. The 1982 12A-turbo Cosmo coupe was officially the fastest production car in Japan until being overtaken by the FJ20ET powered R30 Skyline RS.

The HB Cosmo & Luce were sold in Japan only, with the 929 being the export version (which was not available with the rotary engine options). While the sister models (the Luce & 929) were replaced in 1986, the Cosmo variant remained in production at a trickle until 1989.

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