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Mazda CosmoFor a car to grace the front pages of Australian motoring magazines it has to be good, and Mazda’s HB series 929 was. Styling, technology, ride and comfort were all years ahead of there time at a time when the market had “matured” enough to accept such advanced automotive technology. For a luxury 2 door coupe the 929 was to be untouchable within it’s class and Mazda were on another winner. (or so they thought ) The sports car theme was well covered with the RX-7 on it’s way to automotive history. With the addition of this new 929 the luxury touring coupe market was now catered for. The car looked sporting enough but when buyers tried for the performance to match they were sadly let down. It was simply too good to be true. With a gutless carby feed 2Lt 4-cylinder dating back from the 70’s, buyers just had to be content with looking fast because trying anything at any speed simply caused embarrassment. |
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Motoring journalists of the day spoke for the need to import the rotary option but at Mazda AUstralia, they fell on deaf ears. Once bitten by the “inappropriate ?” marketing of the rotary engine outside of a sports car Mazda Australia were twice shy. What they failed to realize however was that tastes in Australia didn’t necessarily match those of other markets that discriminated against the rotary in earlier cars due the 70’s oil crisis stigma. |
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Marketed as the Cosmo in Japan, this car enjoyed (initially) enormous success on the domestic market. However on it’s release in late 81 there was notably no rotary engine option. That’s not to say Mazda didn’t plan it that way. Their rotary engine division had just come up with Japans first variable (valve/less) timing system called SPI which translated to “six port induction” A system not all unlike the better known Honda VTEC of the early 90’s. The 12A-SPI option was released by mid 82 so Japanese buyers cold have the choice Australian's wern't worthy of. |
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In Oct 82 Mazda released their first turbocharged rotary option for any of there cars. With 165 hp on tap, the 12A EFI turbo engine moved the Cosmo to the top of the list with it’s status as the fastest (Japanese) production car in Japan. Encased in a world of speed limited roads, the Japanese public simply wanted the prestige of owning such a vehicle knowing they would never get the chance to prove it’s reputation personally. One party that did however was a collective of automotive journalists taking a coupe to the JARI (Japanese Automotive Research Institute) test track were they ran the Cosmo for 24hrs averaging over 200 kph on it’s high banked oval track. For the next year, the turbo optioned Cosmo was to be top dog in the Mazda stable. |
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The HB series had practically every option available to an automotive manufacturer in it’s day. Firstly it was the ONLY CAR IN THE WORLD to offer all automotive types of engine. Rotary, Piston or Diesel. It’s 4-wheel disc & IRS system gave it remarkable handling & stopping power. Incorporated into the series II (84-89) version were electronically adjustable struts to suit the driver’s particular tastes at that moment. Pressing a button would turn all struts hard, soft or a combination of both, depending on the preselected (changeover) speed.
It’s plush interior was certainly a big seller. With 6 way adjustable front seats (top line model) & matching high quality carpet the buyer felt instantly at ease. The futuristic dash pod had all the necessary gauges (including boost for the turbo option) one could hope for. A double DIN sized stereo packed quiet a punch for it’s day, in fact that’s one part of the HB series were you wont find too many aftermarket mod’s. The factory system was simply that good. An electronic climate control system was capable of distributing differently tempered air to various parts of the car depending on the input from it’s numerous internal temp sensors. Naturally power windows & steering were available as was central locking, remote mirrors, cruise control & a comprehensive trip computer.
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| Coupe / Hardtop luxury & sports driving The sports appeal of the plush interior combine with the luxury of all possible 80's options. An excellent combination. |
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| Sedan interior Top of the line luxury. This was Mazda's LIMOUSINE for the conservative buyer. The "Wolf in sheep's clothing" cliche comes to mind once this version is driven. |
For the series-II starting in 1984, Mazda updated the HB series with the removal of the twin “B” pillar design from the Coupe & other minor differences for the Hardtop & Sedan versions. Previously standard for the coupe & hardtop, Mazda changed direction & made the pop-up headlights an option. Although unchanged by design, the interior was upgraded with better quality trim & the removal of the “much criticized” digital dash. Instead making it an option to replace the easier-to-read analogue dials.
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The new engine on the scene was the 13B “RESI” (Rotary engine-super injection). Another first for Mazda, the “now” injected version of their largest (to date) engine gave the 13B refinement suitable for the Cosmo’s luxury image. To ensure the buyer felt the same way, Mazda allowed only the 4-speed auto box behind it. Making 160 hp the injected 13B was better suited for it’s role as a smooth torque’y engine. With a 20% increase in torque compared to the last carby version from the 1981 CD Cosmo the torque multiplication of the auto’s converter made it a very pleasurable car for daily use in the traffic.
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Losing it’s status as the fastest production car to the Nissan Skyline, Mazda allowed the 12A turbo option for the series-III RX-7 (84-85). With it weighing in 100-200 kg lighter (depending on version) the RX-7 stole a great deal of sales from the Cosmo coupe version as Mazda strived to catch up with it’s arch racing rival.
Down under in 1984, Mazda Australia gave a boost to the pathetic performing (MA series) 2 Lt by replacing it with a newly designed (FE series) carby 2 Lt. giving an EFI option later in 84. Sales were still remarkably high for Mazda & at this stage a number of aftermarket specialists began to offer turbo packages in an effort to get the 929 performing the way it looked. Mazda Australia took note of all this going on but entrenched arrogance meant they still refused to allow the rotary option, so in late 85 they offered the 929 with a turbo 2 Lt. option. Unique to the Aussie market, it was seen as too little, too late. Due to their ignorance, Mazda Australia had allowed the HB 929’s “slug” reputation to be fully cemented.
On the Japanese domestic front, Mazda centralized the HB range by removing the sedan version, the 13B-RESI plus the 12A-SPI from the line up in 86 after the new HC series arrived with it’s 13B-turbo option. Despite that, the HB coupe & hardtop sold but at a much slower rate (EFI 2lt or 12A EFI turbo form) as they had now become good value for money. Interestingly, Mazda continued to produce the HB series up until 1992 but only as a 4 door with a piston engine for Taxi use. The rotary option was removed in 89 after sales had dropped to just 8 cars. Just aswell the JC Cosmo was just around the corner.
Back in the 80’s many people weren’t prepared to hold there breath & see if Mazda Australia would allow the rotary option, thus quite a few rotary Cosmo’s found there way to Australian roads either through the Western Australia easy going import laws or by personal import for the eastern states. Today when the odd Cosmo can be found, don’t expect it to command the same price as it’s piston powered counterparts. A 12A-turbo coupe will fetch over AUS $10,000 easily if it’s in good condition. Still, those who would want one would be pleased to know that some could still be found in Japan through the right contacts. As they are seen as a collectable car now, pricing will reflect that. As a general car though, it’s gone. They have almost all been removed from the roads by the “throw away society” that is Japan, not to mention cut in half for "front cut" imports to Australia, New Zealand, etc to keep these “cult” aftermarket scenes fed.
For it’s 7-years of production the rotary optioned Cosmo yet again put Mazda on the map within there domestic market allowing buyers the choice of both sports car & luxury car for the cult status rotary engine. Now if only Mazda Australia where that smart.
