The Top Gear DISASTER that destroyed Mazda's rotary supercar forever
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День томуYou guys probably recognise the Mazda Furai from a brief showing on Top Gear, but what actually happened to this car? It very quickly vanished from the face of Earth, so Mike Fernie takes a dive into this rotary supercar's back story to find out where the car currently resides.
Check out the stunning Mazda RX-7 we drove from Torque GT here: www.torque-gt.co.uk/mazda-rx-...
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00:00 What happened to the Mazda Furai?
00:46 What is a rotary like to drive?
01:37 What was the Furai?
03:40 The three-rotor engine
04:59 How does a rotary engine work?
08:37 The fire
09:34 Why the RX-7 is so epic
10:03 Where is the Furai now?
11:32 The future of Mazda
@haydenbush Місяць тому
You may not believe me but here it goes… From what I was told by a man who worked or works at Mazda’s North American Operations in Irvine, CA. The car was received back in January 2009 and was assessed by both Mazda’s head of finance and insurance services. The car was then placed under “Special priority” and then sent back to Japan via ship in March 2009. As of sometime in Mid 2012 the car was quote “Being rebuilt for Mazda’s private collection.” That’s all I got. Edit: Wow! Thanks for the likes! I got this information in speaking to a guy from Mazda’s American Operations at the Le Mays Car Museum in Washington State. I honestly can’t remember his name as he was with a few other people overlooking an exhibit but he was quite older. I just remember the topic of the Mazda Furai came up because I mentioned my favorite race car was the #55 787B and then he told me a concept car called the Furai had the same #55 too! And the info I got came from that…
@rendaddy_ Місяць тому
Even if you're lying, you gave us more interesting info than the whole video.
@caledonianrailway1233 Місяць тому
Sounds like someone offered them a lot for it to go to to a private collection
@user-neo71665 Місяць тому
@@caledonianrailway1233 Mazda's private collection. Mazda has pretty much a museum/warehouse of every car model they have ever built including race cars.
@bucketslash11 Місяць тому
that is at least 1 possible thread to follow
@wr1ght939 Місяць тому
I freaking hope so.
@mikecochrane803 Місяць тому
That is absolutely legendary. A car that was completely totalled while Top Gear had it during the peak years, and Hammond wasn't even driving it. There can't be many in that category.
@evo8nut 29 днів тому
😂😂😂
@zeroinfinity5864 26 днів тому
Well it was the cars fault. A design flaw. They should have had the flames in mind when making the car.
@chrischaf 26 днів тому
@@zeroinfinity5864 Ya know, on a one-of-one priceless concept/prototype like this one, a built in fire suppression system doesn't sound like a bad idea 🤔
@BurmaJ Місяць тому
Research efforts : one email ✅
@TurboHappyCar 27 днів тому
Well he also repeated all of the myths about the engine, like stacking rotors and apex seals flying out. I skipped that part of the video.
@sianwarwick633 25 днів тому
When a company doesnt cooperate, they dont cooperate. This is Drivetribe making their case for options
@PeterShire 21 день тому
Lol, and I wish he shared some details on the dates of these events. Was this car introduced in 2008, 2009? When did it burn?
@AntiVaganza 20 днів тому
Well, sports and car journalism should in my opinion most often be in brackets. Also, adding social media to the mix often dilutes the journalism part even more. So, yeah, this was well below their normal standard. But hey, at least Hammond is saving the planet. He surely must be the only one working on synthetic fuels in GB. I heard it on youtube!
@PhilMann Місяць тому
I remember being asked to do a customer research piece for Mazda. They bundled us into a room with tea and biscuits and had lots of Qs about the style of cars I liked etc etc, then images of various concepts and asking which we preferred and why, emotions felt etc etc. I still remember when I saw the image of (essentially) the Furai. It was jaw dropping, so much better than the other images they'd had. I remember leaving and thinking Mazda were going to have some very special looking cars if they changed their design language to something like that. When I saw the Furai itself online I immediately recalled that Research session. What a car, what a sound. Bravo Mazda.
@inha1ed Місяць тому
I remember that car only because I played Forza Motorsport 4
@SWatchik Місяць тому
Still one of the best racing games. Probably put more hours into that than any other.
@Jason-gq8fo Місяць тому
Was gonna say the same thing!
@Challenger160 Місяць тому
That was my favourite LMP car in that game.
@Endidixknsej Місяць тому
Didn’t even know it was in that game
@josephj807 Місяць тому
For me I only saw it is asphalt 8
@omega1575 Місяць тому
I would like to thank this car for its help in the Like The Wind championship in GT5, I couldn’t beat it without it.
@kabongpope Місяць тому
FD RX-7 is one of the best looking cars out there. First time I saw one parked up in a garage in the early 90s I had to check it out because it didn't look like anything on the road.
@majist0 Місяць тому
Easily one of the most beautiful cars ever made. The Spirit R is peak design.
@Blas4ublasphemy Місяць тому
Looks just like a C5 Corvette and kind of like a Saturn Sky. GM likes the look too...
@JoshuaC923 Місяць тому
My favourite car
@spyrule Місяць тому
There is still nothing on the road that compares...
@Subversion121 Місяць тому
*the best looking car out there
@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188 28 днів тому
As an elderly man of 76 I remember when German NSU came with first the small and absurdly expensive NSU Spyder, based on an NSU Printz and later the gorgeous NSU RO80! But they never managed to make it function and constantly changed engines on the warranty!!! A Swedish journalist had 3 engines in his RO80!! It seems that only Mazda could make the engine function?
@nicktrovato139 Місяць тому
I still think about this car at random. I think it has the best looking backend I’ve ever seen on a car.
@midgetspinner7007 Місяць тому
Bro really contacted the customer care email for Mazda USA and took their response to heart. They would know nothing about the internal ongoings of concept cars being developed and as such likely just don't know the answer. Not suspicious at all if you know anything about the industry
@Yvolve Місяць тому
10:16 Whoever laid that skid mark, can thank their ABS and traction control for saving their lives. If that front wheel had locked, the car would've gone up and over that ramp-shaped bank. Crazy to see ABS at work so clearly, even after the fact.
@LazyFingersITB Місяць тому
I live around here, it’s a lovely corner but sharper than it looks. The bank continues round and then flattens out a bit further down. I saw this mark not long ago and thought the exact same thing same thing, it was probably a very quiet drive home for them after that save.
@Yvolve Місяць тому
@@LazyFingersITB I imagine the level of pucker was quite high, probably took a chunk out of their seat. From the video the corner seems to have quite a bit of camber as well, making it that much harder to get right.
@kevin6666123 Місяць тому
Kinda looks like the skid marks you get from the wheels on the trailer of an articulated lorry with the 3 large tread bands visible on the road. They often lock up/under rotate leaving marks like that.
@ascgazz7347 Місяць тому
@@Yvolveyou have a particular way with words.. made me chuckle. 😂
@Yvolve Місяць тому
@@ascgazz7347 Thank you, I try.
@WWarped1 Місяць тому
Going from memory here, so might get this wrong. Wasn't there a few grainy photos around 2009/10 of it being unloaded from a ship? Mazda went nuts and wanted the photos destroyed, and took legal action. I only recall it because of the many debates. Some thought the grainy picture were actually a 757 or 767 prototype, whilst others said it was Furai. The car was matt black, so details were not fantastic. I also think it was missing wheels. I remember this because I was hanging around some Mazda forums looking for details about the autozam/mazda AZ-1, and info about importing.
@FriendlyCroock Місяць тому
look man the reality is that it wasn't a reliable prototype.
@howardosborne8647 Місяць тому
@@FriendlyCroock It was a very fast Fire Engine which lived up to its title 😂
@bumble3572 Місяць тому
As a proud owner of an RX-8, I pray for a true RX-9 in the future. For the flaws of the rotary engine, it truly is a dream engine
@adambeimel104 20 днів тому
yes, and we should also look for lamborghini, ferrari and AMG GT motors over 100k. all rare types ;-) if you have a special engine it should be treated like one, leave it time to warm up, and don't stop it immediately to let it cool. Unfortunately I never had a car like this, but I allways tried to treat those I had with respect (no reving while cold, oil change in time, etc.)
@puffpio Місяць тому
The other interesting stat is that Franz von Holzhausen (Teslas chief designer) was working at Mazda at the time and was involved in the design of the Furai
@thaburninator0904 25 днів тому
Man that makes sense, I dont know much about car designers but if what you say is true, that man is one of the best ones out there.
@elchucapablas 21 день тому
Well then he forgot everything he knew because those teslas sure look plain
@martingreenaway8748 21 день тому
Was this where he got the idea for the inflammable cars, then?
@SonicProvocateur 19 днів тому
Well that idea really didn't pan out either huh
@UncleManuel Місяць тому
If one person can revolutionize the rotary engine then it is Rob Dahm. Taking the engine apart, analyze it, realize its problems, use dowels & CNC machines to make it bulletproof, tune it on Haltech ECUs, understand how a rotary engine wants to be tuned. And share it all transparently on UKposts. 😎🤘 Btw: Rob Dahm has currently a triple-4-rotor boat engine in his shop to make it run properly, he is tasked by its builder Tyson Gavin. It's a 12-rotor engine with 15.7 litres displacement and modular E-shafts. It was developed to replace a Chevy big block in a racing boat. ✌
@benjaminbuschi284 Місяць тому
We need to all spam Rob on his video's and get him to build a replica Furai.
@ArgonBlargh 24 дні тому
@@benjaminbuschi284 His next episode starts with "today we are forgetting about and dropping everything we are doing to fully recreate the Furai"
@TJagla1989 23 дні тому
At the other end - there's Mukka Motorsports naturally aspirated 6 rotor beast, that sounds like nothing in this world!
@lucky7s94 23 дні тому
I wish he could do more content on both the 4 rotor and the 12, but he's wrapped up doing 3 rotor things and pikes peak stuff lately
@julshg 21 день тому
don't forget to mention this absurdity of an engine is supposed to get some spooly bois👀🥵
@ish474 Місяць тому
I saw it at its debut at the North American International Auto Show I probably spent an hour photographing it. the thing you might not get unless you saw it in person is that every single angle of the car looks amazing
@Anamnesis Місяць тому
Given Mazda's size and operating budget, we should count our blessings we still even have the MX-5 available, and it's far simpler and more affordable by comparison to the old rotaries that were highly specialized. They've been teasing upscale grand touring concepts for over a decade with nothing to show for it, and until they can fully leverage their relationship with Toyota, there won't be a new halo model. All you have to do is walk onto a dealer lot to see they really just want to sell luxury CX models now anyways, so any specialty model would be extremely low volume, not to mention enormously expensive; if the old FD RX-7 was still around at the prices it sold for brand new 25 years ago, that would be the equivalent of about $60-80K USD today.
@ArthurZakaryan23 Місяць тому
Sadly that's what people are buying and no mass market car OEM can ignore this if they want to continue existing. The more high volume models they sell to bolster their overall financial health, the higher the chance they can take more risks with building more specialized low volume models.
@pauliewalnuts240 Місяць тому
Everyone wants sports cars back but they don't buy them when they come out. Suvs are the default vehicles choice sadly.
@DroneStrike1776 27 днів тому
I currently drive a 2019 Mazda3 AWD hatchback US spec. Also owned a 88 FC RX-7 in 1997 when I was in highschool. Mazda is such an underrated company. They're small cars are really fun to drive.
@IAnolastname 24 дні тому
@@pauliewalnuts240 nobody buys them because they ask near GT-R money for a supra after you're OTD
@jaydentierney2194 Місяць тому
Every hotwheels collector just died at 3:01
@veritasardens6547 Місяць тому
Not all Hotwheels collectors would die, there are many like myself who love keeping my cars uncarded and love taking pictures and toying around with them.
@2chuu24u3 25 днів тому
I have a HW Furai in original colors uncarded. Gotta unwrap em toys!
@peterbellwood5412 23 дні тому
@@2chuu24u3 Am I allowed to say 'me too'? I've added some realistic wheels and rubber tyres to mine.
@finlaylavery8408 Місяць тому
Speaking of Mazda, Mike, on an early Top Gear episode from around series 3 the guys had The Classic Wall, a derivative of The Cool Wall for possible future classics and Crocks. One car that was placed in the Crock section by your boss, Mr Richard Hammond, described as "Fake Japanese take on a British sports car..." the Mazda MX5... would you care to take this up with him at some point?
@beauthestdane Місяць тому
Bought my MX-5 in 1993, I still drive it today as my daily driver.
@BySixa Місяць тому
Chris Harris has the same take
@Recessio Місяць тому
I'd love to see a revisit of the entire Crocks and Classics board (and the Cool Wall). So many bad takes!
@lukew6725 29 днів тому
@@RecessioKinda cheating to redo the classic wall after the car has already become a bit of a classic. The whole point was that they were trying to predict which car would become a classic.
@Recessio 29 днів тому
@@lukew6725 I'm saying they should see if their predictions 20 years ago were right or wrong lol
@PiDsPagePrototypes Місяць тому
Maybe the answer was that 'abrupt' because the press office person doesn't know anything about the car, because those people tend to move through jobs quickly and you'd be talking about 'an old concept car' that they'd never heard of? Or maybe they think Drivetribe is related to Top Gear and having a concept destroyed by or with the mags involvement is still painful?
@ehyojono Місяць тому
Nice Canadian tuxedo Mike. Looks like an Albertan edition.
@andylarham5251 Місяць тому
The Furia is currently at area 51, hence the abrupt answer😮
@krazyhartin Місяць тому
The likely outcome of the fire on the Top Gear track may have shown a design flaw of the body; inadequate cooling may have been the reason for the fire. This could be the reason Mazda doesn't want to show case the Furai and don't want to admit to the design flaws of the car; that's one reason. Another reason, is Mazda may have trust issues with motor journalists since then, and they wish to avoid further criticism relating to the fire incident.
@necavenue 25 днів тому
Pretty sure Mazda new the design wasn't proper since it was just a concept. In fact they basically took a race car chassis and slapped a concept car shell over it. I don't think they did proper wind tunnel tests for real world engine cooling. The concept car wasn't designed for all out racing, just marketing. Now if they designed it for homologation that would be different, and the car would look different too.
@ramotive Місяць тому
The Furai was the coolest thing made by an automotive brand imo
@edwardfletcher7790 Місяць тому
I'll raise you a Sesto Elemento or Koenigsegg Gemera. 👍
@minners71 25 днів тому
Nah Ford with the GT40 takes that title.
@edwardfletcher7790 25 днів тому
@@minners71 Lots of cool vehicles have been made since the 1960's Ford race car ..
@minners71 24 дні тому
@@edwardfletcher7790 And your point is? Or am I not allowed an opinion, if I had the money to buy any car in the world it would be a classic gt40 in the gulf livery, coolest thing ever built by a automotive company and race winning stats to boot.
@kristalturner509 Місяць тому
DriveTribe has become an amazing part of my week as of late. Thank you for your great content!
@simoncordingley3122 Місяць тому
I once owned an RX4. It was smooooth. But not as viscous as my friend’s peripheral ported RX4 with twin webbers and upgraded suspension, that shot out two foot flames.
@markuks Місяць тому
So you made a video of the Skyline, Impreza, Evo, now the RX-7. Will there be a video of the NSX or the S2000? why did honda drop the s2000
@M3PH11 Місяць тому
they weren't making any money on it
@justrandomstuff84 Місяць тому
S2000 was discontinued for the same reason as the Supra, Celica, MR2, Silvia, Integra, Eclipse, GTO, FTO and several other JDM sports cars... there was no more demand for them. the generation that mainly bought these cars, they grew out of them, they now wanted big luxurious sedans and wagons (family cars) at that point, the golden era of Japanese sports cars was over.
@Nordlicht05 Місяць тому
@@justrandomstuff84 Most people after that were mostly interested in used ones and wouldn't pay the money for a new one. I mean before a hype for some models. Here in Germany Japanese cars had a hard time. A little older there was a test between a BMW 3 series all wheel drive and a Subaru legacy turbo. The Subaru had all fancy options and the BMW nearly nothing. Slower smaller more expensive. What did people buy?? 3 series with rear wheel drive. Ok to be honest real wheels drive was the way to go with these BMW. But sold legacy's... Not much. I remember prices for the supra or nsx. Most normal new car buyers saw.... What money for a honda??? No thanks.
@thh4584 Місяць тому
S2000 was garbage.
@classicraceruk1337 Місяць тому
@@thh4584I drove one and pretty much agree. I bought a Type R instead.
@madcat4563 Місяць тому
I remember that car from my (only) issue of Top gear turbo challenge. We just called them top gear cards. Shout out to whoever remembers those.
@nagasako7 Місяць тому
What you are saying.. BBC owes Mazda a super car program 😂
@Rose_Butterfly98 Місяць тому
But not really since the top gear didn't actually do anything out of the ordinary. Either way, Mazda has the chassis in their collection or something.
@DjDolHaus86 Місяць тому
I might start paying my TV licence if it helps
@BradleyGibbs Місяць тому
@@Rose_Butterfly98the story literally describes them doing something out of the ordinary.
@Rose_Butterfly98 Місяць тому
@@BradleyGibbs kind of, not really, according to the test driver's account they were allowed to go do their tests at the track, the only out of the ordinary thing was the visibility of the track so the fire crew got there a little late
@bjorn1583 Місяць тому
@@DjDolHaus86 never pay your tv licence
@alexandercowin4921 Місяць тому
talking of adding rotor housings to increase the number, shoutout PPRE for making a 6 rotor drift car that sounds like an f1 car
@sparkysimian Місяць тому
did you just publish an entire Rotary video without Ro... Ha! Right as I was about to type Rob's name, you bring him up.
@Sgt_SealCluber Місяць тому
Rotary are still very useful as small aircraft engine due to their power to weight ratio, smaller size, and reduced vibrations.
@webb2800 Місяць тому
Suprised they're not used in motorcycle's more often for the same reasons.
@torstikinnunen3801 Місяць тому
I'd think rotary could be used for boat engines as well. Although costs for running and fixing might be an issue.
@bjorn1583 Місяць тому
@@webb2800 rotaries were a failure in bikes, just ask suzuki
@webb2800 Місяць тому
@@bjorn1583 I wonder if a modern rotary would perform better? Seems a lot of the issues on the Suzuki bike were down to over complexity
@ChishanFipz Місяць тому
Nothing puts a smile on my face more than my RX8 on some twisty roads. Sublime steering and handling.
@srr441 Місяць тому
Same.
@mpk490p Місяць тому
Great video Mike you seem to fit well in the 7! love mine had serval over the last 25 years. I also hope there is more for the rotary engine, they just need looking after and servicing more but when you do the reward is worth the effort!
@number1yota Місяць тому
Am I the only one that got 3 Mazda commercials during this film? I'd love to see Mazda back in the sports car game. I remember the Furai from Top Gear, and Forza, and I have the Hot Wheels as well.
@scaree2496 Місяць тому
It's my all time favourite concept car. I race it really often in Assetto Corsa. It sounds amazing!
@kawaiikeyboards Місяць тому
honestly idk why this video feels disappointing because the Furai in the end was just a concept cars, and concept cars get crushed or dismantled all the time. At least the Furai "died" doing what it was meant to do and didn't end up as a non moving show piece with little usage. But honestly I think I read somewhere that rebuilding the Furai was too costly and with the downturn in the economy and focus on environmental alternatives the rotary (at the time) was doomed to fail. But thankfully things have changed now and the RX-Vision and Iconic SP proves Mazda hasn't given up on rotary engines just yet
@caerxm Місяць тому
died doing what it was meant to do? ah yes, mazda build a million dollar race car just for revving and shooting flames.
@ZX3000GT1 29 днів тому
@@caerxm Furai was a concept car first and foremost, and while it was indeed poised to be a race car later on, it was still in its development phases. Finding problems are common in concept cars (usually not this fiery tbf, but point still stands), and cost was the problem for continuing this project (Mazda ain't exactly a particularly large manufacturer unlike Toyota or Honda) moreso than the car catching fire.
@NO3V Місяць тому
Designed back in the day by Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen. His later stuff got more useful but not less purposeful.
@LoanwordEggcorn Місяць тому
The fuel air mixture in a gasoline engine does not "explode". It burns rapidly. If it explodes that's called "knocking" or Dieseling, and it damages most non-Diesel engines.
@coach4050 Місяць тому
Remembering this car these days wild that you guys did this vid in this time. The design didn’t age at all.
@EyesOfByes Місяць тому
That car is absolutely amazing in RealRacing3. They nailed the engine noice for that car in the game
@Wylef_the_Stubborn Місяць тому
I am a 40 y/o man and I still cannot say "Wankle Engine" with out having to suppress a giggle...
@rendaddy_ Місяць тому
neither you can spell it correctly
@mtylerw Місяць тому
53 y/o man here. Same, and I want one. 😂 do it Hammond!
@nolowputts Місяць тому
The guy the engine is named after was German, so it should be pronounced with a "V", like Vunkel. But that's clearly not as fun.
@mikehipperson Місяць тому
@@nolowputts What a'W⚓'!
@AllNamesWereAlreadyTaken Місяць тому
Cause it's a "Wankel-Motor"
@ceesdewidt887 Місяць тому
Thnx, great video again. The rotary engine is such a phantastic technical concept in spite of its issues (NSU RO80 owners however may not agree….). Sorry to see that nobody else picked this up and perfected it. Will never forget the sound of that car blasting down the Mulsanne straight in 2002. 👍
@_NobodyImportant Місяць тому
What an enjoyable watch to learn how the rotary engine works!! I always wondered how they work and now i know 🙂
@ubernoob103 Місяць тому
The Furai is ingrained into my head. I was obsessed with it in year 6 thanks to top gear mag. Over the years, I always wondered where it went. Once the article came out explaining the accident, I was genuinely shocked. What a shame.
@frykyfryky1 Місяць тому
remember this car from gran turismo, still looks amazingg
@mikehipperson Місяць тому
Rob Dahm also is in possession of a 12 rotor 'W' engine originally designed for marine use!
@krevo6c Місяць тому
Love my Mazda Furai in "Nitro Nation".
@Sverkell Місяць тому
Fantastic video! please give us an update on the Brera next.
@peterbellwood5412 23 дні тому
Great suggestion.
@poppukornmiichan Місяць тому
It was almost to shown in Thailand (The Furai) but then Top Gear ..... (If i was remembered in Drive by J!mmy (Headlightmag) it was said before Top Gear Borrow the Furai it was Plan to Showcase in Thailand International Motor Expo (if i remember correctly if i watch that mentioned week i will edit the comment later on.)
@DRRCreations Місяць тому
I saw the Furai at the Goodwood Festival of Speed..........................ahhhhhhh the sound! 😍😍😍
@joelavery3235 Місяць тому
6:00 I feel like I’m watching an episode of “How it’s Made” which I love. My first introduction to these cars was my 1986 RX-7. It was my first car and it was also a manual.
@halofreak1990 День тому
Imo, the correct way to compare the displacement of a rotary engine to a piston engine, is to apply the same calculus, meaning you measure the amount of air displaced by the engine for a full rotation of the crank- or, in the case of a rotary, eccentric shaft. Not sure how/why the displacement of a rotary was ever a discussion, when the same basic principles apply.
@marksneddon5571 Місяць тому
That Mazda RX7 still looks amazing even after all these years, definitely aged well styling wise. Always wanted a Mazda in the 90s be it a 323 Turbo or MX6 could never afford a RX7
@penguinactually 10 днів тому
so many words spoken, yet so little said
@Naris48 29 днів тому
I could also be that the person in question, that authored the reply, had no clue where the Furai wound up, especially since that was 30 years ago...
@craighall6185 Місяць тому
Mike, Mazdas already have a small rotary in the Latest CX-30…so your bang on!
@davidy7004 28 днів тому
I think it's the MX-30 (not CX-30) in the UK?
@ifeelcoke4347 Місяць тому
Will there be any updates to the Connaught V10 project?
@terrygoyan3022 Місяць тому
I had the chance to see the Mazda LMP-2 car race at Laguna Seca. IMSA prototype racing was at its pinnacle at the time and provided legendary racing with world class drivers. The sound of the Mazda was incredible. Like the time space continuum being ripped apart! Loved it......
@Pholiage 29 днів тому
I guess the rumors about rotarys being unreliable is the same as the greatness of the Rx7. It never fades... There is actually a 6 rotor in use in a burnout car in Australia. And Rob Dahm has a 12 Rotor made from a small company for a race boat. Also a 5 rotor by Mazzei Formula. He is actually making a spirital version of the Mazda Furai.
@razick0 Місяць тому
I remember this car from Grid Autosport. Was an absolute beast.
@lokichoki_ Місяць тому
My first two cars, 86 and 87 2nd gen rx-7. Both 200k plus and both just kept going. Throttle input was as direct feeling as it gets and the engine revved quickly making a great driver
@bartekzieba6711 Місяць тому
Some said , it was being rebuilt in secret Mazda facility in Fukushima in early March 2011.....
@RitvikSingh-jx9qc Місяць тому
R.I.P
@C-M-E Місяць тому
That sounds a bit like corporate speak for "We sent the remains to recycling", meaning it's Everywhere! 😉
@PJTierney 29 днів тому
This car was last seen in GRID Legends in 2022, so presumably Mazda was okay with licensing the car to Codemasters for the game. From the sounds of that Press Office reply we won’t see anything of the real car any time soon, so I guess we’ll have to do with the virtual versions.
@adventuredrivenaus Місяць тому
I remember that thing! It blew my mind! Such a shame it never went ahead…
@woundedcrow4606 29 днів тому
It’s less of a problem regarding the apex seals. That can be fixed. It’s more of a problem with the fact that all of the engines combustion occurs in one space, as opposed to having it being displaced into several cylinders. The wear from only having one space where all combustion occurs causes scoring that can’t be repaired. Maybe they’ll build a rotary engine with a more durable combustion chamber.
@JohnySv Місяць тому
These engines don't have issues people talk about, they have issues with owners who don't know how to use them. If you treat them well they're as reliable as a normal piston engine. I have 2 rotary cars, one of them as a daily and another modified for the track and I haven't had to open the engine block on either of them for nearly 7 years.
@rodmorgan7041 26 днів тому
What an amazing looking car. But at my age, the best bedroom wallposter car of all time was the Countach.
@PerryWhyte Місяць тому
The thing that surprised me the most in this video was Mike's Mighty Ducks hat.
@brianb-p6586 5 днів тому
This was posted a month ago, but misses that Mazda has been using rotary engines in the MX-30 R-EV series hybrid since last year.
@trevormonk907 Місяць тому
Remember seeing this at the excel motor show many moons ago was a looker then and holds up today shame it’s hidden away forever more
@dvdemon187 Місяць тому
9:40 How the heck did you bust up the RX-7 badge?
@baritengku7655 Місяць тому
I remember Richard hammond driving the Furai in an episode. Or am I mistaken ? I’ve looked for it on yt and couldent find it.
@SL4PSH0CK Місяць тому
Noway Talkin about the Furai!?!
@superr4368 Місяць тому
Has anyone seen the inverse version of the wankle. A company called “Liqui-Piston” has the sharp edges in the outer structure and a rounded rotational piece. Ingenious!!
@89sirmonk 14 днів тому
Zoom zoom was fantastic marketing. I remember actually enjoying watching those ads.
@benodaboy Місяць тому
When I saw the furi in school I was captivated. I studied it for design class. Still one of the best looking cars ever
@JoshuaC923 Місяць тому
I read that picture report they released years after the event, heart breaking.
@tomjoseph1444 Місяць тому
Back in the 70's, there was an offshore race boat that had 33 Mazda engines. Three of them ran the oil pumps for the other 30 (15 per side/prop). Then there was the Mercedes C-111 with the Rotory engine.
@Truex007 22 дні тому
Rob Dahm's 4WD 4-rotor is the stuff of legends, but if you watch Rob's channel, he'll talk about six, and even more insanely, a twelve rotor engine, made from three four rotor banks, the last being a marine engine.
@madmodvideogames4084 Місяць тому
You forgot to mention the 6 rotor that mad Mike has and the 12 rotor that rob dham is rebuilding.
@veritasardens6547 Місяць тому
Nice to have a version of the Hotwheels model of the Mazda Furai in my Hotwheels collection. That way it still lives on!. It is a very unique car in terms of not just its performance but its design that exuded elegance in every respect.
@bertram-raven Місяць тому
There is a 12 rotor being rebuilt in the USA. The previous build had timing issues. Hopefully, the new one will not.
@LockieNZ 29 днів тому
It's not quite 2x the capacity compared to a piston engine, as the two rotors are 180 degrees out from each other. Most motorsports with engine capacity categories multiply it by 1.7
@DaytonasGarden Місяць тому
I would love that idea though. I'm mazda made their competitor to a accord or camry hybrid but they do a 2 or 3 rotary hybrid family car with similar safety and reliability.... dude it would be still a nice car. Especially with modern styling, their mazda 3 looks awesome and mine, yes mine is so nice inside compared to new civics and corolla.
@sharonsmutts Місяць тому
I owed an RX 7 back in the day it was so much fun...it was was fine when i drove to london back to Southampton often with my foot to the floor..but it really did not like short trips...
@brianawd Місяць тому
Rofl. The 787B was detuned from 900hp to 700hp. 24hr race comes down to longevity. Makes no difference if you are 12secs faster in qualifying. It comes down to what happens on race day.
@ryanlove5332 28 днів тому
It’s also about fuel efficiency. Being able to do more laps per stint than the competitors. I have never watched the 91 edition of the race. What were their stint lengths like?
@gabrielvillanueva6394 Місяць тому
i think the scrapped body was transported to the design studio in southern California, according to some sites i read about the car
@Huskycomicowner 26 днів тому
The hot wheels version is what introduced me to the furai. Years ago
@Argiers 25 днів тому
Never thought I'd see the awesome Vectra VXR in the background of a torched one off concept car.
@innovirtua 3 дні тому
I remember it handled like a log on Gran Tourismo, in anything but a straight line it was useless. Very pretty though.
@IOUaUsername Місяць тому
A single rotor engine would fit super tidily next to a flat axial flux electric motor (like Mercedes will be using after acquiring Cambridge-based YASA). That way you'd just need a clutch and you could have a simpler version of the setup in the Koenigsegg One:1, rather than just a boring generator. The whole setup would fit in any car quite easily, so it could even be a compelling hybrid crate motor. If you limited it to running on pure bio-ethanol, you'd have very low NOX and soot emissions and all the carbon emissions would have already been captured when growing the fuel. With the lower temperatures on ethanol, you could even build the single rotor engine from plastic with integrated plastic seals. A range extender isn't used most of the time, so even if the motor needed a replacement after 30,000 miles it would still last the life of the car, and a plastic engine would be extremely cheap to replace.
@Atem_S. Місяць тому
It was so beautiful... Hope they relive the project. Would be insane!!
@pugs1377 Місяць тому
You should do some more research on the 787. I believe I read that the car was detuned by a few hundred hp for qualifying
@Kowalamaster 15 днів тому
The 787b was slower than the other cars yes, but it was lemans and that is an endurance race, it held together but to the point the other cars didn't.
@cloric1 25 днів тому
Im sure a version of it still lives on in GT7 with the mazda VGT
@MichaelVemuri Місяць тому
Richard would hate that last statement… for him anything pagani is only bedroom wall poster cars
@outsider7658 Місяць тому
Thank´s for another video. Being a gearhead/rallydriver (Ret), can´t stop looking at these engine "shows". As far as I remember, I saw one, can´t remember from where, guy, building and starting a 12 rotor wankel. Correct me, if I am wrong, but this behemoth of wankel, sounded brutal. from a Finn in Diaspora
@MrSatnavatron 4 години тому
I get HARD nostalgia for the ZOOM ZOOM
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