Mazda 787B returns to Le Mans 2023
► Le Mans 2023 is nearly here
► Mazda’s 1991 winner will return
► Main race sees Porsche and Ferrari return
2023 marks 100 years of the Le Mans endurance race – and the centenary promises to be the most jam-packed yet. In addition to watching the largest top tier line-up in decades, those attending will also see the return of one of the race’s iconic winners; the Mazda 787B.
The winner of the 1991 race (which is incredibly 32 years ago now) will take to the Circuit de la Sarthe in a demonstration run ahead of the main event, and it’ll be joined by other iconic Japanese Le Mans cars. It’ll also feature in the Le Mans Museum with up to 70 other past winners.
The 787B won by covering 362 laps and especially by outlasting the (admittedly stronger) competition, but it’s become a legendary car – mainly thanks to its novel means of propulsion. Finished in its orange and green ‘Renown’ livery, the 787B‘s 700bhp four-rotor R26B Wankel engine required just one oil top up, and the rest of the car needed one brake change and nose change throughout the race.
The 787B was immediately retired after the race, but Mazda’s rotary technology lives on: the Mazda MX-30 now uses a Wankel engine to produce electric power and extend its usually meagre range. Importantly, the rotary engine in the MX-30 REX simply charges the battery – and has no direct influence on the wheels.
Keyword: The Mazda 787B will return to Le Mans this year