The Mazda Parkway was Mazda’s own vision for a rotary-powered RX-Bus

Though Mazda wasn’t the first car manufacturer to mass-produce a rotary-powered car (that honour belongs to the German NSU, now Audi), the Japanese carmaker certainly produced a number of models featuring the triangular-shaped Wankel engine.

While many fans recognise the rotary engine that powered the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 sports cars, Mazda developed the engine for various models including the Luce saloon, the RX-3 and Cosmo coupes, as well as the REPU pick-up truck.

But those applications sound pretty normal (even the pick-up truck), compared to the Parkway Rotary 26 bus. Even wilder is that the rotary-powered bus used a slightly lengthened 13B engine used in the RX-7.

Granted, the regular Parkway was a 26-seater bus version of the Titan truck Mazda was selling at the time and the 13B was one of the available engine options. The Parkway was also offered with conventional engines including a 2.0-litre inline-four petrol engine (91 PS), a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine (76 PS), and a 2.7-litre diesel four-pot (80 PS).

But why rotary though? Mazda billed the Parkway RX-Bus as the world’s first “low emission” rotary bus when it was unveiled in 1974. Despite its compact 1.3-litre size, the 13B engine produced 135 PS allowing the bus to reach up to 120 km/h.

But speed wasn’t the aim of the game, after all, it was essentially a commercial vehicle. Instead, the Parkway was meant to be comfortable and luxurious, even if it looks more like a minibus than one for long-distance travel.

According to Mazda, passengers could listen to the radio as they sat in comfort thanks to a “powerful heating system with 3-state switching, cushy ceiling trim, and other refinements that created a spacious, premium ambiance”.

You might think that there is no way people actually bought this unreliable-sounding bus. After all, they’re workhorses that are meant to be abused used as long as possible.

Believe it or not, a few brave people did buy into Mazda’s vision for a rotary future and 44 units of the rotary-powered Parkway were built before Mazda pulled the plug in 1977. As the bus was only marketed in Japan, it is very rare and few survived today.

Mazda continued on production with the Wankel rotary engine up until the RX-8 ended production in 2012. However, Mazda's rotary adventure will enter a new chapter with the carmaker undergoing further developments with electrification.

Also read: Mazda confirms plug-in hybrid model by 2022. Rotary engine to return with electrification