IAN AND HIS 626 4WS

Rare Mazda saloon was the 1988 flagship

‘I found it in a garden under a blanket of thick snow’

‘I owned a 1989 TWR 626 GT back in the mid Nineties. It was a great car that drove and handled well, having been tweaked by TWR. We still talk about that car today, it wanted for nothing. I eventually sold it with almost 200,000 miles on the clock. I had always wanted another 626, but could never find one until, one night almost six years ago (December 30, 2014), I was trawling the internet and found this one. It was located up in Leicester, so after a phone call, my brother and I went to take a look. There had been heavy snow, but with my trusty Disco TD5 I knew that if anything would get us there, that would. The 626 was invisible under snow at the bottom of a garden with a dip where it had been sat for so long. I used the Discovery to pull it out and wiped off the snow for a better look.

The Mazda was more green than white. However, I knew I wanted this car as the chances of another one coming up for sale was zero, especially for what the owner was asking for it. I knew these were good cars and my plan was to get it going and drive it back. It drove without fault – I knew it would. Being a 4WS it’s slightly strange when cornering. It is a weird sensation, but I love this car as it brings back so many memories. I am the third owner and in my ownership it has wanted for nothing. Happily, in return it has never failed me.

It’s a proper old school Mazda. I have never seen another 626 like this on the road. In fact this was Mazda’s flagship model in 1988 and is the only 626 of this type currently registered on the road in the UK making it extremely rare.

With just 144,000 miles on the clock there is still plenty of life left in it.’