I found these photos of a JTCC Capella. It seems to be getting hard
 to find photos of the old race cars. I my cob webs I remember seeing
 photos of Savanna coupes with their hoods held open just a crack and
 a plexi shield just in front of the rear edge of the hood.
 Explanation at the time was to let hot air out to help cool the
 rotaries. This before ground effects and other aerodynamics figured
 out. Air dams and rear spoilers common. Raced against 2.0L Skyline GT
 R and I believe 1.7L turbo Toyotas. The red Savanna looks like the
 one I remember. Early photo from memory had a white air dam.

 Dale Davies

 The  Capella was called the RX2 in some markets. The last picture is
 my 1973 RX2. The Savanna was the RX3 I think.

 Paul Lamar


 The 2nd pic down is a R100. Awesome pics!


 -Dan G.

Yes you are correct Dan. After taking a second look. To be
noted is the plexi "air dam" on the hood of both cars.  I
am sure the RX3/Savanna's also had the plexiglass air dam
also in early years.  And yes the Capella is the same as
RX2 and the Familia is the R100.  It is interesting to note
that Mazda won racing championships with these cars after
only a decade or so of automobile production and 10 years
of work on the rotary engines.

Remarkable feat considering
the devastation of Hiroshima 20 years previously and that a
revolutionary design could be refined enough to beat boing
boing engines with about 100 years of refinement.  The
Mazda people keep beating a different drum and working to
change the world with their designs.  Skyactiv technology
is a step in a direction different from most other
companies that see small turbocharged engines possibly
coupled with hybrid technology.  Fords ecoboost is not
providing the claimed economy results in the real world.
Young people that have more of a tendency to get a thrill
out of quick acceleration on a more regular basis will burn
more fuel.



The problem shows up when you talk to older guys with
ecoboost trucks that drive more conservatively and do not
report economy anywhere close to what they were led to
believe.  It is better than a V8 but not enough.  These
people I have talked to feel they would have been better
off with the V8.  People I have talked to with Skyactiv
vehicles report the mileage is not quite what the stickers
from government testing says but close.  New testing
standard used now; 5 cycle that is supposed to give closer
to what consumers will actually see for mileage.

Dale Davies


It is better to report MPG based on steady speeds.
Say 30, 50 and 80 MPH. At 50 MPH rolling resistance, a strong
function of weight, is roughly half the drag.

Paul Lamar

 After taking a second look. To be
noted is the plexi "air dam" on the hood of both cars.  I
am sure the RX3/Savanna's also had the plexiglass air dam
also in early years.  And yes the Capella is the same as
RX2 and the Familia is the R100.  It is interesting to note
that Mazda won racing championships with these cars after
only a decade or so of automobile production and 10 years
of work on the rotary engines.  Remarkable feat considering
the devastation of Hiroshima 20 years previously and that a
revolutionary design could be refined enough to beat boing
boing engines with about 100 years of refinement.  The
Mazda people keep beating a different drum and working to
change the world with their designs.  Skyactiv technology
is a step in a direction different from most other
companies that see small turbocharged engines possibly
coupled with hybrid technology.  Fords ecoboost is not
providing the claimed economy results in the real world.
Young people that have more of a tendency to get a thrill
out of quick acceleration on a more regular basis will burn
more fuel.


Here is a photo of what my '73 RX3 looked like. Mine had
white stripes and aluminum wheels with
5 oval holes. Great color as it was called espace blue. In
the right light it looked green. Body shops screw up the
paint match as the difference between artificial and
sunlight makes a big difference.
It was the first rotary on the EIS race track in Edmonton
even if it was for a driving school. Four B sedan drivers
jumped in it one weekend while I was corner marshalling at
corner 1 on the long track. Scared the crap out of them as
they came up the straight at 130MPH and the found out Mazda
had not upgraded the brakes when they put the rotors under
the hood. My plan was to put Volvo 240 series brakes on it.
During the driving school I had both feet on the brake
pedal entering the dogleg coming into corner 1 at that
speed.

Three laps and BIG brake fade. A John Hall prepared
Boss 302 follwed me but would not pass. He told me later he
did not pass as I had the line around the corners nailed. A
fellow out of Seatle or Spokane raced a red one with an
open diff. Took a different line every time around as he
left a black mark around the corner. He upshifted when the
tach quit moving and down shifted when the buzzer went off
at 6500RPM.
Were you ever at the Edmonton Can Am in September with
Chaparral?

Dale Davies





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