Mazda 787B – Sports Cars
The loudest racing car in the world.
This issue is all about sound, barking, roaring, growling, etc. Etc. I almost broke my eardrums in a McLaren M8F that slipped into the corner of La Source and saw the S1 Quattro shoot flames from the tailpipes ... I also listened to Formula 1 from the cockpit. These miracles celebrate human love and connection with engines, but they are nothing compared to Mazda 787B... I will remember its sound for a lifetime: among internal combustion engines, this is a stunning and unique masterpiece.
Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans and he did it with this machine. Over the past twenty years, chassis number 787B 002 there is a colony of moths here in Hiroshima, except for a walk at the Goodwood Festival of Speed some time ago. This year, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the company's greatest sporting success, Mazda ordered a complete refurbishment of the car for a modest $ 1 million to re-launch at Le Mans twenty years later. He was driving Johnny Herbertwho was part of the team that brought home the race victory 1991.
Racing cars started to get complicated around the time the 787B debuted. Mazda has carbon frame e carbon ceramic discs – which in 1991 were considered the ultimate sports cars, but are far less sophisticated than today's road cars. Rather, it would be if we excluded the engine, which seems to come from another dimension. This fragile a four rotors online and delivers 700 CV a 9.000 circles... No turbo, no supercharger, just these four rotors with a total displacement 4.709 см.
The development of sports cars is an integral part of the company's research and development activities. Mazda speed, who is the only one who uses rotary engines for road driving. In endurance racing, success depends on two things: reliability and fuel economy, which have undermined the popularity of Wankel road engines.
If you are thinking of a 149 hp four-rotor engine? / liter, you expect something quirky and messy, in which case you will be disappointed. I know from experience.
Thecockpit it is so small that, despite my size as a hobbit, it is almost cramped. IN pedals too left in relation to steering wheel located to the right of the vehicle and, despite Clutch both carbons are not that heavy. The steering wheel is large, disproportionate. Lever arm Speed is on the right and has the first back. To start the engine, move a simple switch and then press the large button to the right of the steering wheel. When I ask from behind the helmet visor what the start-up procedure is (I expect this beast needs to warm up before working properly), the technicians look at me without understanding. “Just press start,” someone shouts at me, thinking he is so clumsy that he did not see him. I press the button, the starter whistles for a few seconds, and then the engine behind me begins to roar. He mutters and hisses, making the loom tremble with joy. Ear plugs were recommended to me, but I could not miss the only chance to enjoy such an engine in all its glory.
From the side it's even better. The sound of the exhaust is mesmerizing, emphasizing the movement of each rotor with a kind of rhythmic pulsation, but also introducing a whole new sound, a kind of jerk, as if every contact between the rotor and the combustion chamber were in slow motion for the pure pleasure of the listener. Even at idle, the Mazda 787B is the best-sounding engine I've had the pleasure of trying.
We are in Mallorca on a track that is more suitable for karting than racing cars, not to mention rocket rockets. 320 km / h... It will be a lot if you manage to put the fourth. But who cares. All I want to do is turn around without even changing gears to hear his engine and his soundtrack. But first, I have time-lapse photography for photographers. It's insane to expect a car built to run at full power will drive at a reduced speed when the outside temperature is 35 degrees. But this is the least of my concerns. With very low torque, a carbon clutch and an engine that works like a methanol rocket, I have to do my best to keep it from going out. Fortunately, the 787B has couple It is enough to move even at idle speed.
The reason I am convinced that this is the most incredible engine in the world is easy to explain: it directly links the driver's brain and engine behavior. You don't have time to think about what he is reacting to. It is immediately clear that this is fantastic:accelerator it is an easy and long move that encourages you to work harder and harder.
Then there is the sound, it is so powerful and immersive that it is impossible not to laugh at its power. As the revs increase, it gets more and more wild, going from the typical sound of a car to the sound of a motorcycle. Imagine a ZZR1400 with over 12.000 rpm Akrapovic exhaust and you get an idea of the sound of Mazda's four rotors.
However, in terms of driving, it is characterized by a lack of momentum. As soon as you take your foot off the gas, revs drop and the exhaust hums and pops in a unique way. There power it is unusual, continuous and progressive, since 4.000 circles and the intensity is constant up to 9.000, Speed it's a bit fake and I often finish fourth the first time, but maybe that's my problem more than the car.
Outside, the sound is even better. It is made up of many different voices: the nuances of the V8 here, the barking of the V12 there, and even a superbike note that never hurts. It's also so loud, louder than any other race car I can think of. But what is really striking is the diamond: it looks like a giant tearing a huge sheet of paper in half. It leaves you speechless and happy, like a child on Christmas Day.
After winning the 787B in 1991, Mazda returned the heroin to the Yokohama R&D lab, where the engine was removed and tested. After 5.000 km, the walls of the rotor chambers were as good as new, and the average wear on the head seals at the rotor ends was only 20 microns. In other words, the engine could easily participate in the second 24 Hours of Le Mans without any mechanical repair. Unfortunately, the chassis was not so well placed: the rear bulkhead almost collapsed due to the tension.
Even today, people adore the sound of the Mazda 787B. No Le Mans performance would be complete without mentioning the famous green and orange car, even if everyone remembers it more from the soundtrack than the win. So the 787B is officially a racing car with best sound ever.
