Mazda Cosmo CD

Mazda's rotary chronology lists the second-generation Cosmo, the Cosmo AP, as on sale in October 1975, and its booklet labels the Cosmo AP and Cosmo L as 1975–1981. That label is a model period, not a pair of factory start and end dates, which were not established. Mazda numbers the car differently on different pages: its chronology and 100th-anniversary page call it the second-generation Cosmo, and its Great Cars page heads it the first Cosmo AP.

Mazda's album dates the Cosmo L to July 1977. FIA's historic database lists a Cosmo CD23C in Group 1, rear-wheel drive, homologation number 5632, with a homologation date of 2 July 1976 on its webpage and 1 July 1976 in its homologation list. FIA's linked Toyo Kogyo homologation form pairs CD23C with the 13B engine. A full table of Japanese CD codes was not located.

Mazda describes the Cosmo AP as a two-door pillared hardtop with a centre window, and GAZOO calls it a five-seat luxury specialty car. Mazda's booklet gives the first 13B car as 4,545 mm long, 1,685 mm wide and 1,325 mm high, on a 2,510 mm wheelbase, weighing 1,220 kg. GAZOO describes a strut and coil front suspension, a coil-sprung rigid rear axle, standard four-wheel disc brakes with ventilated front discs, and a drag coefficient of 0.38. The Cosmo L changed the roof to a notchback with an opera window and a leather-covered landau top.

Mazda's booklet says the 12A and 13B were both available at launch. GAZOO gives the 12A as 573 cc × 2 at 125 PS and the 13B as 654 cc × 2 at 135 PS, and says the 13B went into the top-grade Limited. Mazda's booklet states the 13B as 135 PS gross at 6,000 rpm and 19.0 kgf·m gross at 4,000 rpm, with a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic. GAZOO lists the 1.8-litre SOHC piston engine at 100 PS; Daily Automotive News gives 85 PS for the launch VC engine. GAZOO dates the 2.0-litre piston engine's addition to 1977.

GAZOO's published figures for a 13B five-speed car with two occupants are 9.4 seconds to 100 km/h and 15.9 seconds over 400 m. The 12A output convention is not stated.

Mazda's 100th-anniversary page says the Cosmo AP was developed for the European and North American markets and that AP stands for anti-pollution. Mazda's history page records cumulative sales above 20,000 in under six months and a Motor Fan magazine Car of the Year award in early 1976. The 20,000 figure is cumulative sales that Mazda reports, with no market or engine split, and not a production total. A separate lifetime production figure for the CD was not located.

A rotary Cosmo was also sold in the United States. AutoWeek's retrospective, republished by Remember Road, rates the 1976 US car's 13B at 110 hp, with a standard five-speed manual and an optional Borg-Warner three-speed automatic. That is a US rating in horsepower and does not line up with the Japanese PS figures on this page, so the two should not be read against each other. This page covers the Japanese-market car.

US federal safety law exempts vehicles at least 25 years old under 49 CFR 591.5(i); NHTSA counts from each car's manufacture date. EPA's separate age exemption requires the original unmodified configuration, including the same engine model and configuration, or an equivalent or newer EPA-certified replacement engine and emission-control system. Canada counts 15 years by manufacture month and year, and import clearance does not guarantee provincial registration. Check state or provincial rules separately.