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Mazda RX-3 restomod makes Leno scream, us cheer

The Mazda RX-3 Savanna was the rotary-engined version of the Mazda 808 Grand Familia. Sold in the US from 1971 to 1978, the little Japanese fastback earned a reputation as an excellent racecar, winning events all over the world. A racing connection is how a fantastic 1973 restomod example owned by Savant Young made its way to Jay Leno's Garage. Young said that when he was a boy his uncle used to street race an RX-3, and Young liked how the RX-3 sounded and the fact that a tiny import could go up against and beat big V8s of the time. Leno admitted that he has no connection to the RX-3, saying it's not the kind of car he typically likes. But he liked Young's custom update so much that when he saw the coupe sitting outside the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, he waited for the owner to show up. Young's changes over the 15 years he's owned the car include dropping in the rotary engine and running gear from the second-generation Mazda RX-7, bridge-ported and methane injected. At 15 pounds of boost he says it's putting out about 400 horsepower. The rear end comes from a Toyota Hilux half-ton pickup, to help put all that power down in a car that weighs maybe 2,100 pounds. The color is taken from the Lamborghini palette. Disc brakes all around, 14-inchers up front, control the velocity. Nothing controls the gas mileage, said to be "maybe 12 mpg." And nothing could stop Leno from whooping it up during the driver. Check out the fun in the video above.

2023 Japan Mobility Show Mega Photo Gallery: All the highlights and reveals from Tokyo

The 2023 Japan Mobility Show managed to serve up a surprise heap of exciting and futuristic designs and production reveals. Our staff was on the ground in Tokyo for this year's show, where we captured not just all of the latest automotive trends, but some genuinely weird and fascinating stuff.  Browse: Some Delightful Oddities of the 2023 Japan Mobility Show But on to the cars. This year's show featured introductions from Daihatsu, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. Some are weird; some are wild; most are probably destined to change significantly before production or merely fade into the void with the rest of the industry's vaporware, but if even a few of these make it to showrooms, we'll consider it a win. Scroll on down for our live galleries of each of the show's major debuts (and cars we're only now seeing in person for the first time). Enjoy!   BMW X2 and iX2 BMW X2 View 6 Photos   Daihatsu me:MO Concept Daihatsu me:MO concept View 14 Photos   Daihatsu Vision Copen Concept Daihatsu Vision Copen View 7 Photos   Daihatsu Osanpo Concept Daihatsu Osanpo View 6 Photos   Daihatsu Uniform Concept Daihatsu Uniform concept View 6 Photos   Honda Prelude Concept Honda Prelude concept View 5 Photos   Honda Sustania-C and Pocket Concepts Honda Sustania-C and Pocket Concept View 8 Photos   Honda CI-MEV Concept Honda CI-MEV View 3 Photos   Infiniti Vision Qe Concept Infiniti Qe concept View 14 Photos   Lexus LF-ZC Lexus LF-ZC View 8 Photos   Lexus LF-ZL Lexus LF-ZL View 10 Photos   Mazda Iconic SP Mazda Iconic SP concept View 8 Photos   Mitsubishi D:X Concept Mitsubishi D:X Concept View 8 Photos   Nissan Hyper Force Concept Nissan Hyper Force concept View 11 Photos   Nissan Hyper Tourer Concept Nissan Hyper Tourer concept View 6 Photos   Nissan Hyper Punk Concept IMG_6533 copy View 8 Photos   Subaru Sport Mobility Concept Subaru Sport Mobility Concept View 7 Photos   Suzuki Swift Suzuki Swift View 5 Photos   Suzuki eWX Suzuki eWX Concept View 3 Photos   Suzuki eVX Suzuki eVX concept View 4 Photos   Toyota Land Cruiser Se Concept Toyota Land Cruiser Se concept View 4 Photos   Toyota FT-3e Concept Toyota FT-3e View 6 Photos   Toyota FT-Se Concept Toyota FT-Se View 7 Photos     Tokyo Motor Show Honda Infiniti Lexus Mazda Mitsubishi Nissan Subaru Suzuki Toyota

Mazda to reveal MX-5 Miata Club Edition in New York

Mazda is bringing a new version of its latest MX-5 Miata to the New York Auto Show. And while it's giving us very little to go on at the moment, from what we can tell so far, it looks promising. For starters, it's called the Club Edition, which speaks to us of enhanced performance – particularly on the track. For another, the statement below highlights the "maximum driving enjoyment" the existing MX-5 was "designed to deliver," and then proceeds to claim that the Club will "amplify that experience, harking back to the early lightweight sports cars that inspired it, but serving as a beacon for the future as a thoroughly modern, sophisticated package." Hopefully, then, it'll serve as some sort of road-going mid-point between the stock version and the Global Cup racing concept pictured above. We'd expect the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine to carry over likely unchanged with its 155 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque, but with the potential addition of a stiffened suspension, upgraded rolling stock, revised aero, enhanced cockpit and maybe some excess weight trimmed out – although the new Miata doesn't have much to lose as it is. In any case, we're excited. Related Video: 2016 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA CLUB EDITION TO DEBUT AT NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW - 2016 MX-5 Club represents most aggressive road-going version - IRVINE, Calif., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ready to join the Club? The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club edition, that is. Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) will be introducing the North American-spec MX-5 Club next week at the New York International Auto Show. The MX-5 Club represents the most aggressive road-going iteration of Mazda's fourth-generation flagship roadster. The 2016 MX-5 sheds approximately 150 lbs. from its predecessor through use of lightweight, efficient SKYACTIV®1 TECHNOLOGY, now weighing 2,332 lbs. when equipped with the standard SKYACTIV-MT six-speed manual transmission (2,381 lbs. with the six-speed automatic). Powering all North American models will be a 2.0-liter SKYACTIV engine, rated at 155 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque. Shorter than the first-generation MX-5 that initially graced U.S. shores in 1989, yet wider than the outgoing model and with its engine lower and farther back in its chassis, the 2016 MX-5 is designed to deliver maximum driving enjoyment.