Celebrating 102 years since the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co was founded, which later became the Mazda we know and love.
Most people hear the name Hiroshima and think atom bomb, but for Mazda fans, it's the home of the brand and where the famous Mazda Museum is.
It's here that more than 102 years of history are housed, honoring the exploits of the company that started as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co and later evolved into Toyo Kogyo (1927) and Mazda (1984) – although the Mazda name was used first in 1931 as the name for the brand's three-wheeled trucks. Named after Ahura Mazda, the god of harmony, intelligence, and wisdom, the name was chosen to represent the “automotive civilization and culture.”
It's this history, and much more, that is celebrated in Hiroshima, though, where the Mazda Museum is separated into ten zones that each focus on different areas of the brand's history.
Naturally, it starts from the beginning, and Zone 1 is where you'll find the three-wheeled trucks that are affectionately termed to have rebuilt Hiroshima after World War II. These weren't so much trucks as they were three-wheeled motorbikes with a storage bed on the back. The most famous derivative was the Type-GA, which became known as the “Green Panel” after its release in 1938 because of the green instrument panel. To celebrate this, a Type-GA painted in this iconic color welcomes you to the museum.
In Zone 2 and 3, the automaker's roots as a consumer car maker are showcased with a variety of its earliest models. These include the Savanna and Cosmo AP – the latter being one of the first to launch in red. This is significant as red was a color reserved for high-end cars in the mid-20th century, and the brand sees this as the early roots of colors like Soul Red Crystal and the new Artisan Red featured on the CX-90.
Also found here is the Cosmo Sport – the first Mazda to use a Wankel rotary engine. Mazda estimates that only 480 of around 1,200 produced are still in existence.
Zone 4 takes on Mazda's so-called 'challenger spirit' by showcasing some of its most successful motorsport racers.
Of course, the 787B is there – the only rotary-powered car to ever win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's set in a pit garage-style display with various memorabilia from the era, including the 787B's four-rotor, 691-horsepower, 2.6-liter engine on a stand for all to enjoy.
But there are other race cars there, like Mazda's various rally cars, including the Group B RX-7 that finished third at the 1985 Acropolis Rally in Greece – its best result. It stands alongside a version of the Familia Presto Rotary Coupe that also raced for the brand.
Zones 5 and 6 pay homage to the brand's unique engines and era-defining cars of the 1980s and 90s, like the original NA Mazda Miata and the FD-generation RX-7. One such engine never actually saw production; it's the first and only Mazda V12 ever produced and saw development occur throughout the 1980s until 1992. Essentially two V6s joined at the crank; it displaced 4.0 liters and was supposed to be “an engine for the best car in the world.” Just what that car was supposed to be, we'll never know.
Zone 7 is far more pedestrian, showcasing the modern cars that introduced us to the Kodo: Soul of Motion design language and Skyactiv Technology. The Mazda CX-5 debuted the new design in 2012 and takes pride of place in this zone, but the Mazda6 and the ND-generation MX-5 Miata also accompany it.
Mazda is renowned for its safety, so Zone 8 gives us a unique look at what cars are put through to ensure they uphold stringent safety standards. A Mazda CX-30 used during routine crash testing stands in stark contrast to the rest of the pristine exhibits as it lets visitors see how much carnage a crash can cause to the exterior while the passenger cell remains intact.
Zone 9 lets you see what goes into creating cars of that standard as you stroll above the production line of the Ujina factory, which is responsible for 1,000 cars being built daily. Each vehicle takes approximately 15 hours to make, but seeing inside this process is utterly fascinating.
The last zone is this author's favorite, as Zone 10 gives you a glimpse of the future of Mazda.
As the owner of a 1991 Miata and a 2002 Miata, my bias may shine through, but I want the brand to succeed. Zone 10 shows us concepts that will direct the brand's future and perhaps inspire new models. One such concept is the RX-Vision concept – which we still hope will spawn a production rotary sports car. Mazda executives seem keen on that notion, too, with the brand keeping the rotary alive as a range-extender engine for the Mazda MX-30.
The Vision Coupe is another striking concept that has dictated Mazda's design evolution and sits alongside the RX-Vision.
Mazda may not have any present aspirations to take on Le Mans again, but a full-size model of the Mazda LM55 Vision Gran Turismo concept – which you can pilot in the Gran Turismo game – and mixed the Kodo design language with the historical significance of the 787B's 1991 Le Mans victory.
Keyword: Hiroshima's Mazda Museum Is A Haven For Automotive Enthusiasts