Mazda 787B vs RX-8 Design Model

Mazda celebrates this month the 10th anniversary of its remarkable victory at the 1991 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.

Left: Mazda 787B (59th Le Mans Race winning model)
Right: RX-8 Design Model

In June 1991 Mazda became the first and only Japanese manufacturer to win the coveted Le Mans title, and the Mazda 787B became the first and only car powered by a rotary engine to win this prestigious race.

In its 1991 victory the Mazda 787B completed 4923.200 km (3,059.79 miles) at an average speed of 205.133 km/h (127.49 mph). The drivers were Bertrand Gachot, Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler.

Today, Mazda, the only company in the world to produce a pure rotational internal combustion engine, is developing a four-door, four-seat RX-8 sports car powered by the revolutionary next-generation RENESIS rotary engine. Mazda revealed the design model of the RX-8 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year.

Today, Mazda displays the 787B in a museum at the company's Hiroshima, Japan headquarters.