The Mazda Capella (RX-2/616) made its debut in Japan in May 1970 and came to the US in early 1971 as a coupe or four door sedan. By American terms it was a compact, about the size of a Datsun 510 or Ford Cortina Mk II. In Japan, it was an intermediate, slotted between the Familia (R100/1200) and Luce (1800).
The RX-2 used a 12A rotary engine that was initially listed as 120 horsepower but the required move to SAE ratings in 1972 reduced that to 102hp. A piston engined counterpart was offered but received little attention and was dropped from the US lineup in 1973. By that time, four out of five Mazdas sold in America were rotaries and Mazda expected sales to be fully so by mid-decade.
Fuel economy was fair by American standards at 18mpg and gas still cost less than a dollar a gallon. Consumers were easily getting 30mpg from similarly sized competitors but the RX-2 was marketed as a sports coupe and it could easily out-accelerate a Capri or Opel Manta.
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