Recently, Trevor and I were invited to house sit for a friend in Oahu, Hawaii. Of course it was an easy ‘yes’ from us. Anytime we travel, though, I am always on the lookout for cool and interesting cars.
You can learn loads about a community simply from the cars that sit on its streets, but arriving at night we weren’t afforded this opportunity. However, as the sun came up over the mountains the next morning, I peered out my window and spotted something interesting.
It was a little yellow wagon, but in the dark morning light I couldn’t quite tell what it was. A Corona wagon? No, not quite…
Could it be a Mazda RX-3? They’re rare enough as coupes and sedans, but I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a wagon before, so to find one sitting right under my nose seemed dubious at best.
I went downstairs to get a closer look, and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed.
The more I investigated the thing, the cooler the situation became. Ironically, the wagon had Oregon license plates, meaning that we flew to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to find a car that once lived in the state Trevor and I now call home.
I secretly hoped the wagon was a piston-powered variant, but only for the sake of being able to use Mazda 808 in 808 — the local area code — in the title.
However, everyone has a thing for rotaries, myself included, so I was hardly disappointed to find out it was a genuine RX-3 wagon, and therefore has a little spinning triangle to make it move.
It also felt like good timing to stumble on such a neat rotary-powered car, because that same morning an article popped up on my phone about a rule update for the Le Mans hypercar class that will allow rotary engines to race at Circuit de la Sarthe again.
Something tells me this thing won’t be racing through the famous French road course any time soon. In fact, I’m not sure if it even runs at all, as it hasn’t moved in the week I’ve been watching. But it’s still guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of any automotive-inclined passersby.
I know that’s what happened when I saw it, but only after some raised eyebrows.
Sara Ryan
Instagram: pockowokosara
Oh wow... I never knew there were wagon bodies for RX-3!
I would really love to see rotaries race in Le Mans again, especially after seeing the Mazda LM55 Vision GT concept. That thing gets my heart racing!
Hi Sara. That's true speedhunting, or more precise, speedfinding - just as I like it. The best are always the surprises that just present itself to you. That's a great and super rare find. There might be an interesting story behind it.
Cheers, Sebastian.
Speedfinding sounds very scientific!
hey, nice find! thanks for sharing
I can hear that thing running right now! nice!
Pssst! Keep your eyes open while you're here: while they're not exactly rare anymore, there's a cacophony of street-legal kei cars rolling around, which includes a handful of Honda Actys (in both van and truck form) and a silver Honda Beat. Also, there are a few Skylines roaming around, and rumor has it there's a JZX90 somewhere as well.
On the one hand, it makes me happy to see such a fine example out and about.
On the other, it makes me sad to know that it's out and about in Hawaii, and will thusly be reduced to rust within 2-3 years.
Well, that's assuming every, single spot weld on the thing isn't annihilated by the terrible roads there first.
Mahalo for the good times, Hawaii...but it's time to get some 19th century roads!
http://bit.ly/2rPy0r1
We can comment when the thread inst from an arab
I love the idea that this person has just had their car 'featured' on here, but are completely unaware.
This just makes the want for something rotary powered so much more!
Just locally they are all waaaaay overpriced for reasons unknown or when they have a good price they seller never responds to texts, phone calls or emails until months later to say 'sold it man'
One day, one day...
Not just any Oregon plate, that's the paid upgrade version and clearly they're serious owners. What a treasure to find on treasure island! Oregonians keeping it weird... gotta luv it, lol