Mazda 787B

Number: HKH01-M7C5

Year: 2023 - 4/10

Collection: Retro Racers

Born: 1990, Le Mans

Manufacturer: Mazda

The Mazda 787 and 787B are Japanese endurance prototype race cars developed by Mazda for competition in Group C in the World Sportscar Championship for 1990 and 1991. Designed by Nigel Stroud, the car was powered by a 2.6L R26B four-rotor engine. First competing in 1990 to mixed success, the car was upgraded to "B"-spec in 1991. It was at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans where the 787B saw its greatest success, where Bertrand Gachot, Volker Weidler, and Johnny Herbert, racing for Mazdaspeed, won the race; while the car may not have had the pace of the cars it contended against, the 787Bs were significantly more reliable than its competition. After 1991, rotary engines were banned from competition; Mazda would replace the 787B with the MXR-01 the next year, which saw mixed success.

As of 2022, this remains the only overall victory at Le Mans of a car without a reciprocating engine, a feat unlikely to be repeated; this was also the last overall victory for a Japanese manufacturer at the race until 2018. Five chassis were produced.