The 25 Best Japanese Sports Cars Ever Made

7. Mazda RX-2

The Mazda RX-2 was a special version of the first generation Mazda 616. What made the RX-2 special was the Mazda Wankel engine that was offered instead of the standard 1.6 liter four-cylinder. The RX-2 was also given a substantial facelift to make it stand out compared to the regular 616. The front end was redesigned and the interior of the vehicle was given an entirely different dashboard. The rotary engine gave Japanese buyers a financial advantage when it came time to pay the road tax, as the RX-2 was more powerful than a traditional car, but didn’t qualify for the higher 1.5 liter engine tax bracket. The RX-2 was built in New Zealand and was the first and only rotary engined car to be built as both a sedan with a manual or automatic transmission, and a manual only coupe.