TOYBOX

RX3 AND VG REGAL

IF YOU HAD to pick the landmark car in the often patchy and dramatic history of Wankel rotaries, the RX-3 would be a geat choice.

Otherwise known as the Savannah series, this generation Mazda took the crash or crash through approach to selling the technology, with a surprising range of variants. However it was the engine warranty which really set it apart.

Mazda realised that it had to address the elephant in the room – a giant question mark over reliability. That was down to early rotaries – most notably NSU – suffering combustion chamber seal failure at relatively low mileages. Mazda felt it had comprehensively addressed the problem and backed up that belief with a warranty, in the all-important USA market, that promised coverage for five years or 75,000 miles (120,000km). It was an extaodinary offer for the time and way ahead of any accepted industry norm back in the early seventies.

However the biggest surprise was yet to come as the series aged, which was the extraordinry prices being commanded by good original examples. We’ve seen prices resembling telephone numbers with no sign of abatement.

That’s particularly the case for early unmodified examples – nearly all this generation seemed to cop the later and larger engines in place of the original 982cc 10A that was fitted by the factory.

This example is such a rarity, boasting the original motor and auto, plus a known ownership history. And we’re told it’s unrestored.

Those factors mean that the substantial price of $90,000 is far from being a surprise. If only we’d known back in the 70s what they’d be worth now! Look for it at Muscle Car Warehouse in Kogarah.