Mazda RX-3
Despite having a larger number in its name, the RX-3 of 1971 was smaller than the RX-2 introduced the previous year. In Japan it was known as the Savanna, which was Mazda’s name for the rotary version of the Grand Familia, sold in export markets as the 818. The Sports Wagon, launched in 1972, was the world’s first rotary-engined estate car.
On the market for seven years, and in three series, the RX-3 was a sales triumph. 286,757 were sold in that period, 105,819 of them (more, you’ll remember, than Mazda’s total rotary production up to 1970) in its peak year of 1973 alone. This made it the best-selling rotary car ever produced up to that time, and it is still second on that list today.