RX2 of the week

[Eccentric shaft]

Calendar says week 4 only starts today, so next Rx2 will have to wait. Instead presenting a 1972 616 coupé. This car was sold on an auction in New Zealand last year.

[clive]

 

[Eccentric shaft]

This week we have a 13B-converted US spec 1971 coupé

[clive]

Real nice in white

[Eccentric shaft]

Not normally that keen on red cars, but that 616 coupé looks stunning. 
Is that a genuine Mazda colour, you think? Looks quite a bit brighter than Sunset Red (and I think that one was launched a bit later).

[clive]

I think your right the red looks very red

[Eccentric shaft]

 
Thanks! That is just amazing! "Earth Green" and "Flare Yellow" were real classics! Some of these were continued. I remember the showroom in 1977 had a 929 in Earth Green. We were supposed to have a bright blue 616 (colour not in this chart), but there was a long wait for a blue car, so my dad settled for "Sunrise Red". It faded very quickly, unfortunately.

Curious that there's only one orange colour, though. I think there were at least three available (bright, peach and burnt) but perhaps they weren't available in the UK?

[clive]

I can only remember seeing one orange over here when I worked doing pre-delivery inspections.

I used to work from a tick list checking things,  like every nut and bolt on the chassis!.

We also used to strip all the Japanese Dunlops off the cars as they came in, because the rubber was so hard it was dangerous on our roads,

[Eccentric shaft]

Thanks, Clive this is fascinating! Another question is how the VIN-numbering on the Rx-2 worked. I can't seem to make sense of it.
As far as I can find out, a total of 225,688 cars were built, but if we add the info I found on production per year:
1970   4,242      
1971   63,389      
1972   58,433      
1973   54,962      
1974   7,656      
1975   5,960      
1976   553      
1977   253      
1978   240      

...that puts the total at: 195,688 (exactly 30.000 less)

The model was sold in Norway from 1971 through 1974. When I look at the register, most 1971 series I cars have 5-digit VIN numbers.
Mine is a late series one (built, probably around June 1972) and it has a six-digit number starting with 12****. The latest car I have tracked is a 1974-model, VIN 218447. This all seems logical, but there are some irregularities. Of course, our equivalent to the DVLA bases Model year on the date of registration. Still, there must be some deviance from the straight count from 00001 to 225,688 (or should that be 195,688?) Or perhaps not? 

[Eccentric shaft]

RX8 Club has all the answers: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-media-news-11/mazda-rotary-production-number-history-169856/
My numbers for 1970 were 30,000 short:

That should give the following VIN-numbers per year of production:
1970   34,242       00001–34,242      
1971   63,389       34,243–97,631         
1972   58,433       97,632–156,064         
1973   54,962      156,065–211,026         
1974   7,656      211,027–218,682         
1975   5,960      218,683–224,642         
1976   553              224,643–225,195         
1977   253              225,196–225,448         
1978   240              225,449–225,688         

[Eccentric shaft]

Of course, production year (PY) and model year (MY) don't overlap. According to automobile industry logic, 1971 MY begins in October 1970, etc.
So without info on monthly production figures, it's impossible to determine the exact numbers of series I spec, series II spec cars, etc.

Other puzzling things about these numbers: Why did they continue to build Rx2s in such low numbers throughout 1978? And what about the RX4/Luce production figures stretching into 1990?

[Eccentric shaft]

For week 6: A Danish four-door Super Deluxe from 1971. Love those mudflaps! 

[Casey]

Nice 

[Jamie R]

There's something about a model from the 70s that has a nice set of flaps !


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[Eccentric shaft]

Week 7. Another 1971 four-door. This time French. Oh, la vache! Quelle voiture!
(the bonnet is series II and the radiator grille is 616, but never mind)