Featured Classic: Mazda Cosmo 110S

Looking up

Unlike today’s copycat styling, automotive designers in the late 1950s and early-‘60s derived much of their inspiration from the technological optimism of the Space Race.

Whether in Australia, the US, Europe or Japan, many aspects of vehicle styling back then were influenced by rocket-propelled flight – even if many cars remained mechanically simple at their core.

Not surprisingly, American car designers focussed on enormous fins, afterburner-inspired tail-lights and torpedo-like front-ends.

Japan’s take on the era was relatively mundane by comparison from a styling point of view, except for the Mazda Cosmo. Strikingly beautiful and wonderfully well-proportioned, the Cosmo enthralled sports car enthusiasts from the moment it debuted at the 1964 Tokyo motor show.

Somehow, Cosmo designer Heiji Kobayashi successfully combined exotic British and Italian sports car cues with the spacey styling of the American models (there’s more than a bit of 1961 Ford Thunderbird in that roofline), while simultaneously confining the coupe’s proportions to those dictated by Japanese vehicle category tax law.

Small, low, but at the same time light and airy, the Cosmo’s large glass area and thin pillars provided convertible-like cabin proportions. A compact space, but also elegant and driver-focussed.

The Nardi steering wheel, adjustable bucket seats and full-instrument dashboard were in stark contrast to the ungainly parcel-shelf-mounted Clarion speakers, or then futuristic features like flow-through ventilation outlets on the B-pillar.

“It’s not only a unique design – it was very different to anything else on the market at the time – but it’s also the first rotary-powered car we had,” explains John Robinson, a technician at the Mazda Australia heritage collection where this particular Cosmo now resides.

“It was the start of the whole rotary program, and was used as part of the initial development program for the rotary engine with early examples given to dealers with instructions to ‘drive it to destruction’ in a bid to test the durability of the new engine.”

Piston-free performance

Of course, a halo car like the Cosmo was not just about handsome looks. The sporty coupe was also a flagship of technology for the Japanese brand at a time before exports to Europe and the United States had begun.

In the Cosmo, Mazda managed to perfect rotary engine technology to the point where it was suitable for mass-market use. With the small but powerful, twin-rotor 982cc engine delivering an impressive 110hp (hence the 110 badge on export models), it was the catalyst for more than two million rotary-powered vehicles over the following four-and-a-half decades.

The high-revving engine (7000rpm redline) allowed the 940kg Cosmo to hit 100km/h in 8.8sec, cover the 0-400m sprint in 16.4sec, and reach a top speed of 185km/h. A four-speed manual transmission, independent front-end and DeDion rear suspension, and disc/drum brakes were other key elements of the rear-drive Mazda.

“It was so small and compact, and produced an extraordinary amount of power for its size – there really was no way to get that sort of power out of a similar-sized piston engine,” Robinson enthuses.

“These cars were light, their engines revved really high, and they encouraged enthusiastic driving, which in turn is what I think grew people’s love of rotary-powered cars.”

After Mazda raced the Cosmo at the gruelling 84-hour Marathon de la Route at Germany’s Nurburgring in 1968, it managed to eke a further 20hp from its 10A engine. Series II production variants benefitted from the increased output the same year, along with a new five-speed gearbox, larger wheels, and some modest cosmetic changes.

Although cheaper than its key Japanese rivals, the hand-built Mazda Cosmo 110S was prohibitively expensive in export markets like Australia.

Our featured example arrived Down Under as part of a viability study by Mazda Australia, and was a star of the 1967 Melbourne International Motor Show. But with a proposed retail price around 25 per cent more than the then-new EH-series Holden sedan, it never sold in local showrooms.

Sixties survivor

By its own admission, Mazda Australia admits the history of its cherished Cosmo is a little vague. After the business case failed, it’s believed the car graced the company’s New South Wales office for a time. It remains completely original, apart from a respray at some point in its life, albeit in the same Aurora White hue.

“We have photos of it on the stand of the 1967 Melbourne Motor Show, which means this is the same car Ted Smith [a Victorian Mazda dealer] brought in to try and generate interest and promote Mazda in Australia,” says Robinson.

“We know it’s been repainted but there’s no evidence of repairs or damage. I mean, it still has less than 30,000 miles on it.”

The Mazda Cosmo 110S is one of the rarest and most sought after Japanese cars of the era and this example survives as the cornerstone of Mazda Australia’s 40-strong Heritage Collection. Examples of the Cosmo Series II have sold for as much as $332,000 in recent years, with rarer Series I models probably even more valuable.

“We’re not really sure what it’s worth,” Robinson admits. “We cherish the car not for its worth or because of its rarity, but because it’s an important part of our history.”

Mazda Cosmo 110S (Series I) specifications:
Series production: 1967-68
Engine: 982cc twin-rotor petrol
Output: 110hp (82kW) / 130Nm
Gearbox: Four-speed manual
Weight: 940kg
Dimensions: 4140mm (L) x 1595mm (W) x 1165mm (H) x 2200mm (WB)
0-100km/h: 8.8sec
0-400m: 16.4sec
Top speed: 185km/h
Total produced: 343 units

Mazda Cosmo 110S (Series II) specifications:
Series production: 1968-72
Engine: 982cc twin-rotor petrol
Output: 130hp (96kW) / 140Nm
Gearbox: Five-speed manual
Weight: 940kg
Dimensions: 4140mm (L) x 1595mm (W) x 1165mm (H) x 2200mm (WB)
0-100km/h: 8.5sec
0-400m: 15.8sec
Top speed: 193km/h
Total produced: 1176 units