It’s the 5th Mazda model powered by the company’s flagship rotary engine. It was launched in January 1971 and referred to as a “Rotary Speciality”.
It followed the Cosmo, Familia, Luce and the Capella and was the car that ended the Hakosuka GT-R run of 50 consecutive wins in domestic races, its first win came in a Fuji endurance race in December 1971.
By 1976, a record of 100 wins in Japan was achieved by a single model. “Rotary Speciality” was an appropriate term as it showed how capable rotary engines were.
When it was first launched it was only available as a sedan or coupé, but in January 1972, the Savanna Sports Wagon was introduced, to further emphasize their “rotarisation” philosophy.
At first, the car was powered by the 10A engine, a 491cc x 2-rotor engine with 105hp, but in 1973 the Savanna AP (Anti Pollution) Sports Wagon was introduced with a 573cc x 2- rotor engine producing 120hp. Top speed was 180km/h and it does 400m run in 16.6 seconds (with 5 passengers). It came with a thermal reactor for improved emissions.
This particular car is a later Savanna AP with the more powerful 12A engine and the combination of the wagon body and the aggressive front end from the coupé, give a real impression of practicality and performance.
It only has 32,540km on the odometer (may increase due to logistics). The car has been stored indoors for many years and the original Margaret White paint does not show fade and the various gauges are in good working order. The wood trim on the rear, the T-shaped dash shared with the coupé and sedan and the seats show no tears or cracks, and it even has the original sticker showing that it was bought from the Shizuoka Mazda dealer.
It’s a bit of a miracle that a car that should be a daily driver has survived in such an amazing condition, both inside and out, something that is usually reserved for sports cars.