It was in 1974 that Mazda launched a pickup truck in the US market, proposing innovative technical solutions for greater utility, combined with a very special driving pleasure, achieved through a powerful two-rotor rotary engine, in the tradition of Mazda’s pioneering pickups.
Stepping away from conventions, as it has often done throughout its nearly century-long history of motor vehicle manufacturing, the Hiroshima-based manufacturer began its rise to become a successful global car maker through innovative means of transportation, which gained cult status in Japan, such as the legendary and original green motorized tricycles.
But the Mazda Rotary Pick-up, launched exactly 50 years ago in North America, would become an equally sensational project, bringing a lot of style to the surf world and even shining at motorsport events.
The world of mobility is always in constant change, particularly due to the emergence of innovative technologies that affect different vehicle segments. Mazda has always managed to stay ahead of many new trends with its creative engineering spirit.
This was also one of the cases that occurred in the early 1970s in North America, which was then the most important market in the world for pick-ups and sporty models. Until then, Mazda had been competing with the compact and practical B-Series pick-ups against the large North American pick-ups, while its new rotary engine became particularly appealing in coupes and sporty models with captivating designs.
Americans loved the robust, high-revving Wankel engine manufactured in Japan, which was characterized by a smooth operation similar to that of a turbine, so much so that, very soon in that decade, one in every two Mazda vehicles sold in the U.S. featured such an engine under its hood.
It thus seemed logical for Mazda to develop a pick-up with this type of technical solution, eventually producing what became the only proposal with these characteristics in the world, with official commercialization in a market. However, what no one could foresee was that the Mazda Rotary Pick-up would arrive at showrooms from New York to California during the first global energy crisis, between 1973 and 1974.
This commercially rooted vehicle, known to its fans as “REPU” – an acronym for “Rotary Engine Pick-Up” – would eventually become one of the most sought-after classics in American surf hotspots and among the pick-up user community. European and German collectors had long discovered the charm of this spirited model equipped with a two-rotor rotary engine, producing 135 hp (chamber volume 2 x 654 cm³), which is particularly distinguished by its robust and wide wheel arches. And anyone who was overtaken by a REPU on the roads would notice the inscription “ROTARY POWER” in large letters, almost spanning the entire width of its rear.
The small pick-up accelerated to 100 km/h from a standstill in what was then a sporty 9 seconds, reaching a top speed of over 160 km/h, surpassing all competition and even matching some sedans with six-cylinder engines of the time.
However, with all the circumstances of the era against it, the career of the extraordinary Mazda Rotary Pick-up would last a mere three years.
Sometimes, the success or failure of an innovative vehicle is already determined before it even reaches dealership showrooms. This was the case with the Mazda Rotary Pick-up, a proposal that clearly differed from other consistently rugged and utilitarian pick-ups, presenting itself with a comfortably equipped cabin, in the style of the Mazda RX-2 sports coupe, even including a tachometer.
Measuring just 4.39 meters in length, weighing 1,299 kg, and with a payload of 640 kg, the “REPU” featured a chassis designed to accommodate the powerful two-rotor rotary engine, which provided more than one-third of the power of comparable four-cylinder engines found in conventional pick-ups.
Its low-emission rotary engine, the 13B type, known from the Mazda RX-3 sports coupe, at the time the top model among Mazda offerings in some countries, complied with the world’s strictest emission regulations enforced in the State of California, and offered a standard warranty of about 80,000 kilometers or 3 years, which was another advantage of the Mazda Rotary Pick-up over the competition.
However, the economic recession that accompanied the oil crisis of 1974 in North America became a severe problem for the Mazda Rotary Pick-up: its consumption of at least 11 liters/100 km (according to EPA standards) was seen as acceptable by specialized media for a pick-up with such a sporty character and fun driving experience, but it was no longer attractive to most customers in the segment, who generally preferred to purchase options with smaller and more economical engines, common to commercial vehicles.
Regardless, in 1974 Mazda would produce a total of 14,336 units for North America, some of which were converted into tow vehicles and roadside assistance vehicles.
Others became lifestyle companions on the West Coast, often seen with a surfboard in the cargo bed and the inherent “ROTARY POWER” signature on the rear.
However, due to the drop in sales, Mazda would halt production in 1975, before resuming it the following year, during which they produced an additional 632 units. Nevertheless, production would come to an end in 1977, with the last 1,161 units, bringing the total to 16,129 units of the Mazda Rotary Pick-up exported from Japan to North America.
In the following years, “REPU” would become a famous cult classic, even playing significant roles in series and films, on television and in cinema, and even in popular console games.
