Kenichi Yamamoto, one of the chief forces behind the Mazda rotary and one the people to approve the Miata for production, passed away at 95. The guy was a big reason why Mazda is what they became. The world feels a little less sporty.
Kenichi Yamamoto, one of the chief forces behind the Mazda rotary and one the people to approve the Miata for production, passed away at 95. The guy was a big reason why Mazda is what they became. The world feels a little less sporty.
RIP Kenichi!
If his family were hip, they’d engrave a spinning triangle on his headstone.
Are we going to be seeing a generation of these guys dying off like Shelby and Duntov Et al to never be replaced by up and coming iconic designers?
If you think about it, him and his team of engineers had to be pretty smart cookies, because they were the only ones to make the rotary relatively successful. The rotary bankrupted NSU, the Citroen version was a complete failure, Ford's rotary program was stillborn and GM/AMC's joint venture never got off the ground. But little old Mazda made it work.
Anyone who knows me knows that I still have rotary PTSD from my years of FB ownership, but I still respect the spirit of innovation that went into those little fuel and oil-sucking timebombs. Rest in peace, Yamamoto-san. You made the automotive world a better and more interesting place.
Trivia: He applied to work at Toyo Kogyo because it was one of the very few companies left in Hiroshima after the war ended.
RIP Kenichi! or should I say Kenichi Brap Brap Brap!
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