The first ride in a rotary-engine car that She has always dreamed of
This project features 19-year-old female racing driver Rami Sasaki, who loves old cars, test-driving a variety of old cars and giving her honest impressions from a young person’s point of view. This time, with the cooperation of the Endless 130 Collection in Nagano Prefecture, we took a ride in a Mazda Luce Rotary Coupe.
1971 Luce Rotary Coupe was restored by Endless
Rami, who made her four-wheel racing debut in the 2023 season in the KYOJO CUP, a women-only motorsport category held at Fuji Speedway, is such a deep-rooted old car enthusiast that she posts about her participation in old car events on SNS. In recent years, many racing drivers have said that they like racing and not the cars themselves, but Rami even enjoys driving her own Toyota 86 on the circuit in private.
Aside from being a racing driver, she usually works for MSC Corporation, the company that runs Formula Drift Japan, and leads a car-obsessed life both in her private and public life.
We asked Rami, such an old car enthusiast, to test drive a 1971 Mazda Luce Rotary Coupe, a vehicle on display at the Endless 130 Collection.
The Endless 130 Collection is a facility opened in March 2021 by Endless, a parts manufacturer famous for its brakes and suspension. It houses a café, a museum with a collection of vehicles on display, and a racing garage where race cars are maintained. The opening of this facility was a long-time dream of Mr Isao Hanazato, founder and chairman of the company.
The many luxurious equipment and low vibration were a surprise
Rami says she had a longing for rotary engines, and perhaps she had a preconceived notion that a rotary meant a sports car, but she was surprised to learn of the many luxurious features, such as power steering and power windows.
“The luxurious equipment for a car of its time gives it a speciality car feel from the outside. It’s on display in this 130 Collection, but in terms of old speciality cars, it’s similar to the first-generation Silvia. It looks a bit like an American car somehow. The interior is also red and looks gorgeous.”
In addition, the car has been restored and at the same time updated with Endless suspension and brakes for improved driving performance. How does Rami feel about this when she test-drives it? We asked her to test drive it.
This is the first time Rami has actually driven a rotary car. It may be unusual for someone whose first rotary was a Luce. When she started driving, she seemed to sense the speciality car part of the car.
“This is my first rotary car experience, but I was surprised at how little vibration it had, which is hard to believe for an old car. I think it’s because the pistons don’t move up and down, but it’s so comfortable with little vibration that it’s hard to believe it’s a car from this era, it’s kind of like a normal car. However, the clutch meet point is hard to find and the accelerator has a lot of play, which is typical of old cars.”
The tune by Endless and the rotary engine is a good one
And she also got a good feel for Endless’ suspension upgrade.
“It goes hand in hand with the ride quality, but it doesn’t have the fluffy feeling of an old car, it’s firm and I feel the benefits of the new suspension. The thing that surprised me the most was the brakes. When I step on them, they feel firm or rigid and very secure. I can’t believe it’s really an old car if I only evaluate the brakes. I was rather surprised that it stopped so well, given my previous experience of test-driving old cars.”
In the latter half of the test drive, she gradually got used to the Luce. Rami was enjoying the drive with the rotary engine that she had longed for.
“The sound is still different from other old cars. The unique rotary sound is wonderful. The feeling of power when you turn the engine is very enjoyable! It’s like it comes into its own from over 3000rpm.”
Rami Sasaki is planning more test drives of old cars in the future. What old car will she drive next time? Look forward to it.
translated by DeepL