The story about the rising of the Japanese car industry is a very interesting one. JDM manufacturers started as outsiders and entered the American and European markets in the late `60s with the lineup of economy models with no real performance. Over the years, sales grew and the Japanese managed to win the economy segment and declare themselves as automotive giants all over the world. Interestingly, from the very beginning of their automotive quest, Japanese manufacturers designed and produced accomplished sports cars, although in limited quantities. Those sports models are now highly sought-after collector`s cars and we will now present to you 10 most interesting ones.
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Mazda 1100 Cosmo
Back in the `60s, the biggest news amongst the car engineers was the Wankel rotary engine. The innovative concept of a single-piston engine which was far lighter and smaller than conventional units but with more power and revving capacity captivated the imagination of several major manufacturers. One of the first companies which were brave and confident enough to introduce such an engine in mass production was Mazda with its little sports coupe called 110 S Cosmo which debuted in 1967.
This was a sharp-looking two-seater with modern design and a tiny 982 cc engine with 110 or 130 HP in later versions. Since the car was extremely small and light, the performance was pretty vivid especially for the standards of the day. Mazda 110 S Cosmo was imported to the USA but the reception was nonexistent. Mazda was a new name to the American customers and Wankel-powered two-seater for Corvette price was a hard thing to sell. That is why they only made around 1300 cars and left-hand examples are very rare today.