Inside the Mazda 787: Rebuilding a 4-Rotor Le Mans Prototype

MORE OF ROTARY ICONS 👉 Mazda RX-7 GTO Onboard at Laguna Seca:    • Rotary Icons: Mazda RX-7 GTO Onboard at La...   If you asked someone to imitate a race car, they’d make this sound. This is the story of the legendary Mazda 787: a machine powered by one of the most unique engines ever built. In this video, we follow the teardown, inspection, and rebuild of Mazda’s iconic 4-rotor Le Mans engine as this historic race car is brought back to life. From precision measurements of rotor housings to the challenges of sourcing one-of-a-kind parts, this rebuild highlights what makes these rotary-powered prototypes so special. Every component is inspected, restored, and reassembled to return the car to its former glory, and back on track. 🔥 Inside this rebuild: Full teardown and inspection of a 4-rotor Le Mans engine Measuring housing wear and compression loss Apex seal behavior and high-tension spring design Unique 3-spark-plug-per-rotor setup for endurance racing Rare, one-of-a-kind components built only for this program Unlike conventional piston engines, this rotary shares almost nothing with what most people are used to. No camshafts. No valves. Just pure, high-revving engineering that screams past 9,000 RPM and delivers one of the most unforgettable sounds in motorsport. 🏁 Developed by Mazda for endurance racing like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 787 represents a crucial step in rotary racing history: where innovation, reliability, and sound came together to define an era. At night, these cars didn’t just race: they spit flames, shook the ground, and created a sound that carried for miles. And now, they’re coming back.