Mazda 737C

The

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

737C is a prototype racing car that was built for

Mazdaspeed (often stylized in all-caps as MAZDASPEED) was Mazda's in-house performance division. The company was a grassroots racing team in Japan. Owned by Mazda Motor Corporation, they built production model vehicles, became involved in motorsports develop ...

for the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

under the

Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...

2 formula. It was the final evolution of the initial Mooncraft built design dating back to the 717C. It again used a 2-rotor '' 13B''

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...

. Two 737Cs were entered in the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 3rd and 6th in the C2 class. The 737Cs were also raced in part of the

1985 World Sportscar Championship season The 1985 World Sportscar Championship season was the 33rd season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1985 World Endurance Championship which was contested over a series of races for Group C, Group C1 and Group C2 Pro ...

, managing 8th place for

in the C2 teams championship. In the

All Japan Sports Prototype Championship The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japan Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier y ...

, Mazda was able to come home 5th in the constructor's championship. 737Cs later ended up in the hands of privateers for the JSPC after Mazda replaced it with the newer 757. 737C Group C cars Cars powered by Wankel engines 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars {{Motorsport-stub