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Retro drive: Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S SII 1971. Image by Mazda.

Retro drive: Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S SII 1971
The first Mazda to, um, have a Wankel (stop it) and a halo product for the company – what’s it like today?

   



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1971 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S Series II

5 5 5 5 5

Good points: glorious styling, glorious engine, glorious manners

Not so good: it's a bit small

What is it?

It's gorgeous, is the first thing. But its proper name, to get the introductions off on the right foot, is the Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S. And this is an important machine. Not least because Mazda, as a manufacturer, had only starting selling automobiles in 1960 with the bubbly R360 kei car. And then, a frankly outrageous seven short years later, it was producing this absolute jewel. However, it's more to do with what's under the bonnet of the Cosmo 110S that makes it so special - as this is the first-ever Mazda in history to use a rotary engine.

As this is surely a cue to start having some childish giggles about the fact that this unconventional type of engine is correctly called a Wankel, after its creator and engineer Felix Wankel, we thought we'd get that out of the way so that we can get down to proper, grown-up business. A rotary engine does not use reciprocating pistons on a crankshaft like a normal combustion engine, instead burning its fuel-and-air mix via means of a number of rotors, which are roughly the shape of a Reuleaux triangle, spinning around a central output shaft in an oval chamber. To get the same sort of power as a conventional combustion engine, a rotary unit is typically much smaller in 'swept' capacity and therefore lighter and more compact too, which are two of the perceived benefits of such units. These engines are also preternaturally smooth in operation, so much so that Mazda itself said piloting the Cosmo was 'more like flying than driving' when the car was being marketed in the late 1960s. Of course, there are also some, er, drawbacks to rotary power, such as excessive oil and fuel consumption, and also questions over reliability as the rotors' tips tend to wear over operational time with often drastic consequences, but we'll skim over these for now.

The thing is, the rotary engine has become Mazda's signature - even though Wankel himself was German and the engine type was never developed for a specific make of car. A mere handful of other automotive companies flirted with the technology over the years, although some were only concepts, like the Chevrolet Aerovette or the mighty Mercedes-Benz C111. In terms of production vehicles, Citroen - ever up for a bit of off-the-wall Gallic wackiness - made the M35 and also the GS Birotor before giving up on the propulsion system as a bad job, while long-departed NSU, subsumed into the massive Volkswagen Group and, chiefly, Audi in the 1970s, also punted out the Ro 80 and Spider models. But in historical terms, it is Mazda that has the vast majority of road-going rotary-powered cars in its back catalogue.

Thus, this Cosmo 110S is a forerunner of a long line of non-piston-engined performance vehicles that culminated in the likes of the FD RX-7 and the RX-8, hence why it's so important. And astonishingly attractive. And tiny - those wheels might look massive, but they're a set of 15s, which gives you an idea of the Mazda's minuscule frame.

One final point here: the Sport 110S' unusual 'Cosmo' name came from the world's preoccupation with the space race in the 1960s, when it was being developed. And with all this talk of being airborne and chat about outer space too, it's not unfair to say that the Cosmo looks like the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante; aka, the 'Flying Saucer'. Only prettier. And yes, we are talking about the 1900 C52 Alfa made in 1952 and 1953, not the Touring remake of 2013 which was based on the underpinnings of an 8C Competizione. Controversial? We don't care. We stand by our call.

Why are you driving it?

As part of the celebrations of Mazda turning 100 years old in 2020, somewhat curtailed due to the Covid shenanigans, but still special enough that a selection of the company's key models from history were assembled in Germany in late summer for testing by various motoring journalists from around the world. Seriously, guys; that was some birthday gig. We mean, we'd have probably just been happy with a goody bag containing a slice of cake, a balloon, a comical party hat and maybe a cheap yo-yo to boot, but thanks for inviting us to this shindig nonetheless.

Is it any good these days?

It's magnificent to drive now, so it must have felt (have... to... stay... on... the... cosmic... theme...) otherworldly back in 1967 when it first appeared. This particular car is a 1971 'Series II', with the later L10B 982cc twin-rotor engine. This little gem, equipped with quad carbs and dual ignition for each of the rotors, delivered a relatively huge 128hp at 7,000rpm from its tiny cubic capacity, and all of this propelled a vehicle which weighed a good 60 kilos less than a tonne. So its on-paper figures of 8.8 seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 124mph, numbers that are still highly respectable today, give you some idea of just how rapid this thing would have felt back in the early 1970s.

And it still feels rapid now, although we must confess it's not the most benign of vehicles to simply get about in. First of all, the Cosmo's Borrower-like dimensions are wholly at odds with the vastness of space, so merely cramming your, um, corpulent form into the cramped area for the driver isn't the easiest of processes. Furthermore, the handbrake when it's engaged is mounted in such a way that it points straight at the stars like a rocket on the take-off pad, turning the simple act of operating it into something which feels utterly bizarre, while starting the 110S is a kind of 'fingers crossed' moment to see if its buzzing little rotary is going to catch. And then, when you get on the move in it, you need an absolute bootful of revs to avoid it stalling (yes, we failed, first time out...) and this only feels like you are treating it with a form of mechanical harshness that is most at odds with its delicate, elegant frame. Oh, and certain gears don't appear to have synchromesh on them, so get your best heel-and-toeing clogs on to drive it in a competent fashion.

But boy, once you're keyed into the Cosmo and working out how to get the best from it, this car rewards you in the most glittering, stellar fashion possible. It might not be easy to gel with, yet it will marvellously flow as much information back to its driver through the means of crystal-clear streams of information coming through the steering wheel and the base of the seat. That thin-rimmed, round Nardi item with the old 'M' Mazda logo on its boss is a delight to hold, controlling a steering set-up which is heavy but accurate and consistent. The gearbox isn't quite one of Mazda's slick-shifting greats, but it's precise enough and engages in a really positive fashion so you enjoy clacking the car through the cogs. And the ride comfort is exceptional, considering the short wheelbase and lack of mass in the 110S, yet the Cosmo doesn't seem to trade that suppleness off with woeful body control. Admittedly, it leans more than a modern performance vehicle does, but not to a tragic degree; furthermore, grip levels are deeply impressive. Your bigger problem is going to be the brakes, which are OK because the Mazda is so light, but they feel ponderous and long-travel in comparison to even remotely modern-day stoppers (say, anything from 2000 onwards), even allowing for the wider quality levels of retardation that were on offer way back in the 1970s.

It's the engine, however, which is the shining star here. Considering the unit in this car is approaching half-a-century of life, it still feels eerily smooth and willing as it spins around the wonderfully archaic but oh-so-clear tachometer to the painted yellow section at 6,500rpm, before you shift up as the 7,000rpm redline beckons. The noise is also terrific, that rich, buzzing whirr that only a rotary unit can make building to a loud, spine-tingling crescendo in each gear. Kids, if all you've ever known is synthetically augmented soundtracks from performance cars of the more recent years of the 21st century, try and have a go in a classic car with an evocative, pure noise to it like this Mazda. Trust us, you will not regret it.

So while we fully accept it might not be that easy to get into the Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S and just drive the thing, its fabulous dynamic experience at least makes the notable effort of squeezing into the driver's seat 100 per cent worth it. In fact, we could have said '110 per cent worth it', given the car's name, but as '110 per cent' is an idiom which annoys the crap out of us, we'll leave it there for now. Suffice it to say that, while it was undoubtedly tough getting into the Cosmo, it was that much harder to force ourselves to clamber out of it and stop driving this fantastic, engaging and beguiling little sweetheart.

Is it a genuine classic, or just some mildly interesting old biffer?

Classic. Classic, classic, classic, all the way to the Moon and back (you can stop with the universe-related puns, now - Ed.). Sure, Mazda probably better perfected the rotary-powered sports coupe with the RX-7 line that arrived six years after the Cosmo Sport 110S Series II went out of production in 1972, a line which stayed around until well into the 1990s. But that is to ignore the fact that the Cosmo was largely leagues ahead, technically speaking, of the opposition during its five years on sale, as well as the truth that - without the Sport 110S - the RX-7 would never have existed in the first place; this is Genesis for the Mazda rotary story, and no, we don't mean Genesis like that missile which Khan Noonien Singh tried to use to blow up the USS Enterprise in Star Trek II. Ahem. Anyway, once you also blend in the realisation that prices for these precious Mazdas, of which fewer than 1,200 were made, are skyrocketing towards the £100,000 mark these days, then you realise that what you are looking at here is not just a heavenly part of Mazda's sparkling history, but also a small, perfectly formed slice of goodness that should go down forever as one of the Japanese motoring industry's greatest hits.

The numbers

Model tested: 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S (Series II)
Price: when new in 1971, ¥1,480,000 (circa £33,795, inflation-adjusted for 2019); used examples upwards of £70,000 today
Build period: 1967-1972
Build numbers: 1,176 across two series, 833 Series II cars from 1968-1972
Engine: L10B 1.0-litre twin-chamber rotary engine
Transmission: rear-wheel drive, five-speed manual
Body style: two-door coupe
Combined economy: c.22.6mpg
Top speed: 124mph
0-62mph: 8.8 seconds
Power: 128hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 139Nm at 5,000rpm
Weight: 940kg



Matt Robinson - 16 Sep 2020



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2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.

2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.2020 Mazda Heritage 1971 Mazda Cosmo 110S. Image by Mazda.








 

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