1989 Mazda Rx-7 Convertible Convertible 2-door 1.3l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mazda RT24-P brings KODO style to the Rolex 24 at Daytona

In addition to its new CX-5 crossover, Mazda revealed its new racecar, the RT24-P, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The car has been designed for the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class in IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and will make its racing debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It was designed using Mazda's KODO design language, which the brand has so successfully applied to its road-going cars. The racer's relation to Mazda's production cars is made obvious by the small five-point grille at the tip of the RT24-P's nose. While plenty of credit needs to go to the stylists and aerodynamicists at Mazda and Multimatic, one of the companies Mazda partnered with on the car, some of the credit needs to go to IMSA's new DPi rules for 2017. The new DPi class is very similar to the LMP2 class that it competes with in the WeatherTech series, with some noteworthy differences. The DPi class allows manufacturers to create unique bodies and engine packages for one of the four chassis available. The LMP2 class requires competitors to use the chassis companies' bodies, and are restricted to one engine package. View 14 Photos As for the powertrain, the Mazda RT24-P uses a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that puts out roughly 600 horsepower. Mazda used the same engine in its P2-class race car last season. Mazda's body and engine will ride atop a chassis developed by Riley Technologies and Multimatic. You may remember that latter company as the one that developed the awesome spool valve shocks on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2. The RT24-P will be campaigned by Speedsource, a company that has been racing Mazdas in American endurance racing for years, including last year's P2 cars. Considering Mazda's success in making such a cool race car, we're excited to see what other manufacturers do with the extra design freedom of the DPi class. Both Chevrolet and Ford competed last year in the WeatherTech prototype class with Daytona Prototype-style cars, and Honda competed with an LMP-style racer. Depending on what other makes decide, this year's WeatherTech line-up could have some nifty designs. Related Video: Related Gallery 2017 Mazda RT24-P race car View 9 Photos News Source: Mazda, IMSAImage Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Motorsports LA Auto Show Mazda Racing Vehicles Videos Original Video 2016 LA Auto Show

Mountain goats provide full service car wash at national park

A group of plucky mountain goats in a Canadian national park apparently found the hardscrabble life of a common animal too tedious and tried their hands, rather tongues, at car detailing. YouTube user Darkrider1287 uploaded this video of the goats in action last week. His companion were driving along Maligne Valley Road in Alberta's Jasper National Park when a handful of young mountain goats descended on their Mazda. As the bewildered couple stopped their car, the goats surrounded them and proceeded to lick the vehicle clean. Knowing a good video opportunity when he saw one, Darkrider pulled out his phone to film the endearing and hilarious scene. For thirty minutes, the mountain goats licked the car clean from stem to stern. Paying little to no mind to the humans within, the goats cleared the Mazda of its accumulation of dust, bugs, pollen, and other tasty road grime. "So thorough!" said Darkrider as he narrated his video. "That's some tasty dust!" As the goats cleaned the car, other tourists stopped to laugh and take pictures of the strange scene. Eventually, a handful of cars and as many as ten goats had the Mazda surrounded. "Within a few minutes, we were crowded by both sheep and also tourists taking pictures of our funny plight," Darkrider stated in a comment on the video. "We stayed for about 30 minutes before moving on due to a rainstorm." So what exactly is going on here? A similar event happened to a National Geographic reporter in the same park in 2012. A park ranger told the report that the mountain goats were addicted to the salt used in Alberta to keep the roads from freezing. Even in August, salt can still make its way on to a car in the form of road dust. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: The Daily Mail, YouTube, National Geographic Auto News Humor Weird Car News Mazda Driving goat

Mazda RX-Vision Concept revives the rotary

Mazda continues fighting to keep the rotary alive, and with the RX-Vision concept at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, the company unveils its dream for the engine's revival in a curvaceous sports coupe. Before any fans burst with excitement at the prospect, Mazda only "hopes" to have this gorgeous shape available in showrooms someday, for now. The RX-Vision starts with the classic elements of a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports coupe by combining a long, low hood, short rear deck, and a passenger compartment way at the back. From there, Mazda's stylists add the swooping touches of the brand's Kodo design language. The result looks thoroughly modern and still subtly evokes generations of the RX-7 in the sculpted fenders and flowing roofline. Under that shapely hood hides Mazda's next-generation rotary, which the company has dubbed the Skyactiv-R. Unfortunately, details about it are quite scarce at the moment, including the displacement or even the number of rotors the engine uses. Still, Mazda is abundantly clear that development of the mill is very much moving forward. Mazda's designers opt for a retro flair inside with the deeply dished steering wheel and gauges in three pods. The rest is simple and elegant with a minimalist, metal gearshift rising from the center console and leather straps for door pulls. Finishing things off is a clean mix of red and black upholstery with a little carbon fiber for contrast. Expect live shots from Tokyo soon to show how the RX-Vision looks under the lights. Related Video: Mazda Reveals Mazda RX-VISION Concept -- Powered by next-generation rotary engine SKYACTIV-R, represents Mazda's vision of the future -- HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation unveiled the rotary-powered Mazda RX-VISION sports car concept at the Tokyo Motor Show*1 today. The rotary engine is a symbol of the company's "never-stop-challenging" spirit. RX-VISION represents a vision of the future that Mazda hopes to one day make into reality; a front-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car with exquisite, KODO design-based proportions only Mazda could envision, and powered by the next-generation SKYACTIV-R rotary engine. Rotary engines feature a unique construction, generating power through the rotational motion of a triangular rotor. Overcoming numerous technical difficulties, Mazda succeeded in commercializing the rotary engine, fitting it in the Cosmo Sport (known as Mazda 110S overseas) in 1967.