Mazda 787B

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The Mazda 787B No.55 in the Otaru Synthesis Museum
R26B rotary engine of the 787B

The Mazda 787B was a sports car prototype developed in 1990 by the Japanese company Mazdaspeed with a 4-rotor rotary engine without a turbocharger .

technology

The load-bearing structure of the car is a monocoque made of composite materials reinforced with aramid fibers . The weight of the car was 830 kg. The Wankel engine with the designation 26B and special sealing strips made of silicon nitride produced an output of over 515 kW (700 hp ) at 9,000 rpm from a 2.6 liter chamber volume. Up to 11000 rpm are possible. The vehicle has a clutch with a disc made of ceramic silicon carbide reinforced with carbon fiber and a five-speed transmission from Mazda based on Porsche . The braking system has carbon silicon carbide discs with a diameter of 360 mm.

Mazda 787B

history

The car won in 1991 the 24-hour race at Le Mans with the drivers Volker Weidler , Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot after a running distance of 4,922.81 km with an average speed of 205.333 km / h. Until Toyota Gazoo Racing won with the Toyota TS050 Hybrid in 2018 , it was the only overall victory of a Japanese car and the only success of a rotary piston engine in this race and thus has historical value, but never was Mazda used significantly to improve the image of the brand or the engine concept.

Predecessors of the 787B were different types from 1983, starting with the 717C (as the successor to the previous RX-7 racing versions); all of them were equipped with rotary engines and had races at Le Mans, some with class wins. After the FIA changed the regulations for 1992 so that vehicles with rotary piston engines like the Mazda 787B were no longer allowed to compete in this motorsport class, Mazda stopped development and bought the 1991 Jaguar XJR-14 chassis from Tom Walkinshaw Racing , which were slightly modified and as a Group C sports car it was called Mazda MXR-01 from now on . Mazda took part in the World Sports Car Championship for a less than successful year before officially retiring from motorsport at the end of 1992.

Web links

Commons : Mazda 787B  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b radical-mag.com of July 27, 2018, Markus Chalilow, Mazda 787B - Memories , accessed on September 15, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b Zwischengas.com, Mazda-787B (1991) , accessed September 15, 2018 .
  3. ↑ autozeitung.de of July 26, 2011, Mazda 787B in Le Mans 2011 , accessed on September 15, 2018.