Mazda

Mazda

is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...

 used the Savanna (sometimes incorrectly spelled Savannah) name on a number of rotary

Mazda Wankel engine

The Mazda Wankel engines are family of car engines derived from experiments in the early 1960s by Felix Wankel, a German engineer...

-powered sports car

Sports car

A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....

s in the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 market.

1971

The first home-market Savanna appeared in 1971 and lasted until 1977. It was sold internationally as the Mazda RX-3

Mazda RX-3

The Mazda RX-3 is an automobile sold in the 1970s. It was intended to be smaller and sportier than its brother, the RX-2/Capella Rotary. In 1972 all rotary engines had their die-cast rotor housing coated with a new process: The new Transplant Coating Process featured sprayed-on steel which is...

and was based on the Mazda Familia

Mazda Familia

Mazda's automotive plans for the early sixties consisted of growing alongside the Japanese economy. To achieve this goal, they began by building an extremely cheap Kei car, the R360 in 1960, planning on introducing gradually larger and pricier cars as the Japanese customers became able to afford them...

. A station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...

 version, the Savanna/RX-3 Sports Wagon, was sold for just one year, from 1972 to 1973, when it was replaced by the Luce/RX-4 wagon

Mazda RX-4

The Mazda RX-4 is an automobile sold in the 1970s. It was a larger car than its rotary-powered contemporaries, the Capella-based RX-2 and Familia-based RX-3. It shared the Luce/929 chassis, replacing the R130 in October 1972, and was produced through October 1977...

.

1978

The next Savanna was the first generation of the famous Mazda RX-7

Mazda RX-7

Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980...

. It was sold from 1978 until 1984.

1985

The final Savanna was the second Mazda RX-7

Mazda RX-7

Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980...

. It was available from 1985 until 1992.