U.S. Rotary Fans: Buy This 1986 Mazda Luce Royal Classic Before Someone LS-Swaps It

Okay rotary people out there in CT-land, here’s your chance to save something of a rarity, especially in the States. What we have here is a 1986 Mazda Luce Royal Classic, selling on eBay in Stamford, Connecticut for a buy-it-now price of $12,999. Don’t be surprised if that all sounds oddly familiar for some reason. More on that in a bit.

Right now, here’s what you need to know. The United States got the Americanized version of this car known as the 929, complete with Mazda’s first ever V6 engine. The Luce however was pure JDM, and that’s what we have here, right down to the right-hand drive configuration. The Royal Classic was tricked out with lots of 1980’s tech like a digital dash, rear reclining seats and an honest-to-goodness refrigerator in back. And it’s particularly rare as apparently only 500 were made. The seller claims this is the only Luce Royal Classic in America, and with such low production numbers, that’s not a bold claim at all.

It gets better because this sizeable JDM four door has a turbocharged 13B rotary under the bonnet. Better yet, it’s hooked to a five-speed manual, and yes, it came from the factory that way. According to the seller, the 13B has a few add-ons and is pushing 12psi “for safe driving.” It reportedly makes 305 horsepower at the rear wheels and is “capable of more power if you wish.” Something tells me it may have had more power at one point. Again, more on that in a moment.

This unicorn of a Mazda also has some other upgrades, including a twin plate clutch, Nissan Skyline brakes, Ohlins suspension, aluminium radiator, 17-inch wheels, a Mazdaspeed limited-slip differential for Tokyo drifting, and a single Veilside racing bucket seat for the driver. The exterior add-ons are actually straight from the factory, but since I’ve never seen a Luce Royal Classic before, I must take the seller’s word for that. Either way, it looks positively epic.

Now for the really interesting stuff. Having stumbled upon this car during my daily eBay browsing, I did a quick Google search for Luce Royal Classic and found a couple of others listed for sale in America. Upon closer inspection, turns out it’s the same car from a couple of years ago. It appears the same owner has been trying to sell it since at least 2014. Suddenly the plot thickens.

If you’re a fan of bringatrailer.com you likely saw it there back in September 2014 when they shared an eBay auction. That link is long dead, but BaT listed it in their under $20,000 category. A few months later several other web sites picked it up, this time from a Craigslist ad with an asking price of $26,500. The car had the same 53,300 miles then as it does now, and all the ads come from Stamford, Connecticut.

Now, I’m not saying there’s something wrong with this car. I had all kinds of trouble trying to sell my one-off 1987 Mercury Sable SHO wagon last year, just because it was unique. This rare piece of ‘80s JDM motoring certainly falls into that category, so I suspect the right buyer simply hasn’t come along yet. Then again, it does have some mods, the mileage apparently hasn’t changed in almost two years, and the seller mentions the old school rotary’s penchant for flooding if you just shut it off after a drive. Speaking of which, if the seller should happen upon this article, take my advice: fix the front sway bar bushings. That’s an easy repair for such a cool, rare car. Unless it’s not. But that’s the skeptic in me talking.

In early 2015 this car apparently couldn’t find a buyer at $26,500. It’s now selling for less than half that figure. Is that cheap enough to motivate America’s rotary faithful into action? I’m not a rotary fan, but I think it’s cheap enough to where it doesn’t even matter. We have a rare car that’s dead sexy in a 1980s blockish way, and it has an athletic engine with a manual trans driving the rear wheels. At $13,000 It should be a tempting purchase to a range of enthusiasts, never mind all the devoted rotary fans who live for finicky engines and hold an irrational hatred for the letters LS. Well, here’s your chance at something special, and for what it’s worth, I’d keep that 13B right where it’s at and explore the extra power the seller mentions. It’s been on the selling block at least a couple times before; perhaps the third time is the charm.