Friday Feature: The History of the Mazda 787B

Via Garage Dreams

We missed spending time with the Mazda 787B after Marcel’s Group C feature ended a few weeks ago, so we’re spending our Friday tea break searching out the car.

This video from Garage Dreams examines the significance of endurance racing and Le Mans, goes into the basics of how a rotary engine works and moves on to Mazda’s mission to prove the superiority of their rotary design through motorsport.

Their mission started at the 84 Hour Marathon de la Route with two Mazda Cosmos, accelerated with the success of the RX7 and shifted into top gear as the team began developing cars for prototype racing. The video includes some great detail about the development of the later cars, and in particular the 787B, as well as the historical context and the race craft and strategy involved in winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Put your feet up for fifteen minutes, hit play and enjoy.