Large Mazda rotary ‘barn find’ collection surfaces in US

An advertisement on Facebook Marketplace has revealed a collection of dozens of old Mazda rotary models.

Some 72 vehicles – of which most are Mazda RX-7 sports cars – have been stored in a factory in the southern US state of Louisiana, and all have been offered up for individual sale.

While the Mazda RX-3 is arguably the most desirable of the collection, perhaps most interesting is a number of Mazda Rotary Pick-ups (REPU) shown in the photos.

The REPU was only ever sold in North America, and was the first and only rotary-engined ute to be offered from a car manufacturer.

The pick-up came with a 13B engine, which was the same used in the original Mazda Cosmo, RX-4, RX-5, and the rotary-powered Holden Kingswood, known as the Mazda Roadpacer.

Also of note is a first-generation RX-7 fitted with an ultra-wide CP Racing body-kit.

Collections of older Japanese sports cars are quite rare, as they were never valued as highly as their European counterparts.