Mazda RX500 Concept Car | Rotary-Powered Future from the 1970 Tokyo Motor Show

The Mazda RX500 concept car debuted in October 1970 at the 17th Tokyo Motor Show and remains one of the most futuristic rotary-powered designs ever created. Built to celebrate Mazda’s 50th anniversary, the RX500 showcased the brand’s bold vision for high-speed performance, advanced safety ideas, and radical styling during the golden age of Japanese concept cars.

Radical Design and Space-Age Styling

With its sharp wedge profile, wrap-around glass canopy, and butterfly-opening doors, the RX500 looked closer to a spacecraft than a production automobile. At its heart sat a mid-mounted twin-rotor 10A rotary engine producing roughly 250 PS and capable of revving to an incredible 15,000 rpm. Lightweight construction and extreme proportions gave the RX500 true supercar presence, even though it was never intended for mass production.

Experimental Safety and Rear Lighting System

One of the RX500’s most innovative features was its experimental rear lighting system. Bands of colored lights changed to show acceleration, cruising, or braking, an early attempt to communicate driver behavior to traffic behind the car. Decades later, adaptive brake lighting and driver-assist systems would echo this same idea, making the RX500 feel remarkably ahead of its time.

A One-Off Concept and Its Global Legacy

Only one Mazda RX500 was ever built. After touring international auto shows, it was eventually restored and placed on display at the Numaji Transportation Museum in Hiroshima, Japan. Its legacy traveled even farther through the famous Matchbox RX500 die-cast model, released in 1971, which introduced the futuristic rotary concept to a generation of toy car collectors around the world.

Learn More at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

Discover the story of the rotary engine and the machines that carried it into the future at the Rotary Engine Exhibit at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum in Pinellas Park, Florida. Explore rare rotary-powered cars, motorcycles, and prototypes that show how this bold idea reshaped automotive history.