Great Taste, Less Torque: 2005 Mazda RX-8

They say less is more.  But who are they?  Does that apply to torque from an internal combustion engine? And have they ever driven a Mazda RX-8?  With 232 horsepower the 6-port Renesis has a decent amount of thrust at redline, but with only 159 ft-lbs of torque, this isn't exactly a tractor...but if you like your engines to be piston-free...the RX-8 was the last hurrah for Wankel's legendary rotary and they aren't getting any younger. Find this 2005 Mazda RX-8 offered for $5500 in Santa Clarita, CA via craigslist.

High Watermark or Just High? 1985 Mazda RX-7

A few years ago I would have said that ten large is a stupid sum of money to pay for a first generation RX-7...but I don't know these days.  Classic cars are getting gobbled up my well heeled millennials, grubby fingered gen-Xers, and greedy boomers...but the RX-7 has been cheap for years.  Maybe it's time the spinning apex seal clubber gets its time in the sun?  Or you could at least own this low (53k) mile example and drive it till the miles put it in line with the rest of the market. Find this 1985 Mazda RX-7 offered for $9800 in Arcadia, CA via hemmings. Tip from BP.

Save The Rotary Wagons: 1976 Mazda RX-4 Wagon

I'm posting this next car for all of the wrong reasons.  It isn't really a good deal.  It will cost the next owner more money than it will ever be worth.  And it will probably cause more heartache than a teenager on methamphetamine...but this car needs to be saved.  I guess this is a charity case.  This is a car that needs someone with more money than sense to keep it from going to the boneyard, because how many RX-4 wagons are left in this world? How many more manual gearbox Japanese wagons with rotary engines exist? Screw the whales, save this manual gearbox equipped rotary powered wagon. Find this 1976 Mazda RX4 Wagon offered for $3,500 in Tracy, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck. 

The Juice is Luce: 1976 Mazda RX-4

This next car comes as a tip from JB1025 who writes: Just don't see many of these from the mid 70's too bad for the automatic but owner has a 5 speed to go for extra green $$$$$. Personally, I think it is funny how much these look like the similar vintage Isuzu I-Mark. Find this 1976 Mazda RX-4 offered for $10,000 in Portland, OR via craigslist.

Last of the Wankels: 2004 Mazda RX-8

A Mazda RX-8 with original paint that isn't peeling AND apex seals that haven't given up the ghost...NOW that's what I call a Christmas miracle!!  Find this 2004 Mazda RX-8 offered for $5,300 in Chambersburg, PA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff S.

You Spin Me Right Round: 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE

The first generation RX-7 (SA/FB built in Japan from 1978 to 1985) was a interesting highlight in the sports car world of the early 80s.  The RX-7's light weight frame was propelled by a unique engine - the Mazda rotary.   Find this 1985 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE offered for $3,500 in Sahuarita, AZ via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Rotary Powered Snowmobile: 1972 Arctic Cat Panther 303

First, it was the rotary powered bikes.  Those were strange.   I'm not a 2-wheel guy, but the Hercules W-2000 was a make/model I'd never heard about and the RE-5 was only something I was vaguely aware of -- so imagine my surprise when a link to a rotary powered snowmobile lands in my lap.  Find this 1972 Arctic Cat Panther 303 here on eBay with starting bid of $299 and $700 buy-it-now located in Perry Hall, MD.  Tip from Hugh.

Rotary Unicorn: 1976 Hercules Wankel W-2000

With all the interesting cars for sale around the web, you don't have to be a millionaire to buy them, but you might need Jay Leno's garage space to store them -- particularly if you like inexpensive oddballs that may sit for a month or a year while you wait for a custom made part (or the other remaining model to end up on co-part). However, if your collection includes those of the two-wheeled variety, you might be able to have your cake and eat it too.  And by cake, I mean one-off rotary powered unicorn.  Find this 1976 Hercules Wankel W-2000 here on eBay bidding for $3,789 reserve-not-met with 5 days to go, located in Chicago, IL. Tip from Zach Z.

Seriously Can Comprehend Attraction: 1990 Mazda Miata 20B 3-Rotor

Do you enjoy the style of a wide brim straw hat all year around? Do you love thumbing through pages of mind numbing arbitrary rules, or making sense of the minutes of a meeting populated by ornery cantankerous curmudgeons? Do you enjoy weighing a collection of 100 lug nuts to find the lightest ones and then lodging formal complaint against your competition, accusing them of using their Pirelli connections to get illegal tires?  If you answered yes to any of those questions, you might be ready for SCCA Solo II autocross. Better yet, if your relish the thrill of spending three days towing a "race" car to some godforsaken hell hole like Toledo or Wichita, and then standing in the hot sun for 4 days just to race for 40 seconds for the remote chance of being lucky enough to win some Taiwanese made jacket...then this next thing might be your ticket to jacket heaven.  Find this 1990 Mazda Miata 20B 3-Rotor offered for $12,000 in Bentonville, AR via craigslist.  Tip from Vance.

5k: Renesis Power: 1970 Volkswagen Beetle

For some reason, the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle seems to attract Hillbillies like the Hot Pockets freezer section at your local Walmart.  After the freezer door opens, and the banjos come out, strange stuff happens.  Strange like putting a Renesis Wankel from a Mazda RX-8 into the back of a Volkswagen.  Find this 1970 Volkswagen Beetle with 13B-MSP power offered for $6,000 in San Diego, CA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

DTO: You Spin Me Right Round: 1969 NSU Ro 80

When somebody brings up the rotary engine, the mind naturally wanders to Mazda and its well known use of the Wankel rotary starting in 1967 with the Cosmo 110S and ending with the last RX-8 to roll off the assembly line in 2012.  However, it was German based NSU Motorenwerke AG (later absorbed into Audi/VW) that allowed engineering genius Felix Wankel to design and release the first production rotary engine into an automobile, first in the '64 NSU Spider and then the '67 Ro 80.  Find this 1969 NSU Ro 80 currently bidding for $6,600 reserve-not-met with 5 days to go on ebay, located in St. Louis, MO from the fantastically cool collection at Moto eXotica.

Update: reader IgnatiusReilly tipped us off that this car was previously sold for $24,200 at the Auctions America Auburn Spring auction in May 2014. The auction listing says it was from the John Scotti collection, allegedly the largest Canadian car collection ever sold at auction. Thanks Ig!