A Brief History of Hot Wheels: Mazda's MX-5s and More Rotaries

In today's story, I will give you more insights into those vehicles before moving on to one of the most popular sports cars of all time: the MX-5. One of these was the first Hot Wheels Mazda, but I'll get to that in a minute or so. First, let's continue our tour of the "Dorito" world with some of the most exciting cars known to man.

'68 Mazda Cosmo Sport

For a good reason, Jay Leno has one of these vehicles in his garage. The Cosmo Sport was the first mass-production, rotary-powered Mazda in history, years before the RX-7. Mark Jones designed this casting for its 2020 Japan Historics 3 release, where it sported a white finish and Slotted Real Riders wheels. The Cosmo also appeared in the 2021 Boulevard set before Mattel brought it to the Mainline series in 2022.

Its debut there was spectacular, as it was promoted to Super Treasure Hunt from the get-go. One of these will cost you between $50 to $100, even though some look down on it for its simplicity. With only four variations around, you aren't going to have a hard time getting all of them under the same roof.

Mazda REPU

Whoever thought of using a rotary engine inside a pickup truck deserves our utmost admiration and a round of applause. The REPU might not be as fast as a RAM TRX, but with a few upgrades, it's bound to be a real Hoonigan machine. Jun Imai designed this casting for its 2017 release, and there are now 12 variations of it on the market.

The REPU hasn't made it to the Premium line yet, but you can find a Super Treasure Hunt variation if you're a fan. Mattel introduced that item in 2019, featuring a Spectraflame Dark Blue finish with Real Riders 8-spoke wheels. It's not the coolest STH ever; consequently, you can buy one for $30 or less. Meanwhile, the life-sized version can cost as much as $25,000.

Mazda 787B

Many people refer to the 787B as the King of all Rotary Cars, and you can't argue with that. It was the first Japanese car to win the race at LeMans, and its four-rotor setup makes for a unique, F1esque soundtrack. Mazda takes it out to various events, such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed each year, and there are plenty of videos to entertain you for hours and hours.

This casting debuted in 2018 as part of the Car Culture: Circuit Legends set. It arrived in Team Transport the following year, and I have one on display too. A Gran Turismo variation emerged in 2020 before Mattel developed the first Mainline iteration in 2023. So, a complete collection of the 787B consists of just six vehicles, half Premium and half Basic machines. Watch out for the removable engine cover on the more expensive ones.

Mazda Furai

The first Hot Wheels Mazda I ever bought was a Furai. That happened over a decade ago, as this casting has been around since 2010. Sadly, Mattel hasn't introduced a new one since 2019, but there are 12 variations to go around should you be a fan of the 3-rotor racecar. All of these are mainline items, and the color combos on some are downright repelling. Is it too much to ask for a Premium version soon? It would work great as part of the Team Transport series.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

You're looking at the oldest Hot Wheels Mazda casting in history. Larry Wood designed this for its 1991 introduction. Back then, Mattel was still using a Metal base for its vehicles. It isn't the prettiest Hot Wheels casting ever, that's for sure, but there's a sense of history to it to have you forget about that. Over 12 or so years, 24 variations came to be, and you'll be lucky to find at least one in pristine order. After all, this model has been "extinct" for 20 years now! One seller on eBay asks $90 for one of these items, but the card could be better.

'91 Mazda MX-5 Miata

An updated version of the first-generation Mazda MX-5 appeared in 2019. Ryu Asada designed this one, which is light years ahead compared to the old model. We have seen eight variations of this collectible so far, all of which were Mainline releases. But there's reason to believe a Premium Car Culture iteration is about to hit the market this year. My favorite ones so far are the 2021 Treasure Hunt MX-5 and the 2022 rotary-powered drift replica connected to Mad Mike and his son Linc. The latter is the first to feature a more complex livery and mismatched wheels front and rear.

'04 Mazda Mazdaspeed Miata

The Mazdaspeed Miata is something most MX-5 owners dream of, but only some ever own or drive. It is a brand-new casting for Hot Wheels, and it's the work of Mark Jones. The Classic Red Metallic roadster is part of the Hot Wheels: Boulevard set and features Mini Real Riders 5-spoke Modern wheels. You can buy this '04 Miata for $15 or less today, but its value might increase over time, given it's a First Edition collectible.

'15 Mazda MX-5 Miata

The last Mazda casting on our list is the '15 MX-5 Miata. It, too, is a product of Ryu Asada's skills and vision and has been around since 2016. You'll find ten variations on the market, and most are pretty good! A replica of Mad Mike's car appeared in 2018, the same year as the ugliest version of this casting: the one with the Hot Wheels livery. Mattel developed two designs this year, but the Zamac one is the show's star. Scalpers usually buy Zamacs in bulk and then try to sell them for a profit. So you'll see plenty of listings for this model on eBay and other platforms.

And that brings us to the end of our Hot Wheels Mazda story. At the beginning of part one, there was one question we sought to answer: how many more 1/64th-scale Mazda are there? The toy manufacturer also built a few 1/50th-scale cars, so let's count those in too. There are 17 Mazda castings in total. Each has had multiple releases, so that you can get up to 148 HW Mazdas in your collection.

Twenty-one of those variations are Premium collectibles. There are five Super Treasure Hunts and just two TH items. It would help if you also were looking for the one iD series RX-7 Drift model and the lone Pandem FC Chase version. It's difficult to say how much time and money a complete Hot Wheels Mazda collection would require. Those old MX-5 variations can only come by if you stumble across a Miata fanatic.

All in all, you should be able to achieve your goal with less than $2,000 and about a week's worth of researching and buying stuff. I would like your attention for one last idea: what kind of Mazda vehicles do you think Hot Wheels should develop next? How does the MX-3 or MX-6 sound to you? There is also the matter of an RX-4, and there are still plenty of Mazda racecars to consider.

Have you ever heard about Pac's Performance Dragster Mazda 6? Also, can we please have a replica of RE Amemiya's drift-spec RX-7 or, even better yet, Mitsuru Haruguchi's old yellow FC3S? And let's not get started on GT cars like the Mutiara Motors RX-7 or Panspeed's Time Attack creation. And I'll stop here before I risk turning other people into rotary geeks.