Mazda R100 – today's auction tempter

By: Unique Cars magazine

Date: 10.06.2021

Mazda R100

Mazda R100

Tiny rotary was a trail-blazer

Grays currently has a 1969 Mazda R100 series one rotary up for auction. Bidding has reached $79,000 with seven hours to go.

Mazda's diminutive R100 from the late sixties had a whole lot more impact on the market than you might now expect. Back then, the idea of an affordable rotary from Japan was novel.

As our online feature on the model says: "In the middle of 1969, one of the most significant cars of the 20th century slipped onto the Australian market with little fanfare – the Mazda R100 coupe, also known as the Familia Presto Rotary coupe. It was Australia’s first affordable and practical mainstream car to feature an all-new powerplant in several decades.

"At $2790, the R100 was launched eight dollars under the VF Valiant Pacer, several hundred above the Toyota Corolla Sprinter and 25 per cent under the sports car benchmark set by the MGB. On a good day, it could nudge ahead of the Pacer and outrun the rest."

See the full feature here.

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