Frey Museum, Japanese History in Augsburg
The Frey Museum of the German city of Augsburg has the largest collection of classic vehicles of the Japanese company Mazda . Visiting it means experiencing a exciting jump of decades and continent.
From outside little draws attention to the number Wertachstraße 29b , a street in Augsburg without much charm, full of cheap electronics stores and kebab restaurants. But as soon as the visitor enters the interior of the patio, he discovers the charm of a unusual architectural structure. It is some old tram depots dating back to 1897 and which, completely renovated and refurbished, have housed the Frey Museum for a year and a half, the largest collection of classic cars of the Mazda brand outside Japanese territory.
Cars that have changed the world
A retro sign with company lettering welcome to a comprehensive tour for its almost 100 years (98, exactly) of history through the 120 vehicles that are part of the collection of the owner of the local dealer, Walter Frey, and his children, Joachim and Markus.
Walter founded frey car in 1971, near Augsburg, he started selling Mazda in 1978 , being one of the brand's pioneer dealers in Germany and currently maintains its essence of family business. The decision to associate with the Japanese brand was not the result of chance, precisely: the head of the family, a passionate about technology , he was fascinated by the rotary engine, one of the most emblematic of the company. Thanks to his love, curiosity and commitment, today all visitors to the museum can learn more about the principle of the rotary engine and see many of the production models that mounted a Wankel engine, named after its inventor, the German Felix Wankel.
Walter Frey, passionate about technology, founded the museum
Walter Frey has been for more than three decades a inveterate car collector . His "vice" awoke in 1980, when he discovered and bought his first Mazda Cosmo Sport in New Jersey. That car is today main attraction of the exhibition, which is in continuous evolution , changing models on a regular basis, to always have around fifty on display. Frey spread his passion to his children and together they have created the world's foremost collection of Mazda production vehicles . It represents each model and series that Mazda has marketed since the 30's
An honorary place occupies in this collection, therefore, the 1967 Cosmo Sports, but it is also possible to see closely other flagship models of the Japanese brand like the Look RX 87 from 1960 or the 1992 RX-7, which turned out to be the best seller of history with rotary engine.
here is the first mass production tourism Mazda, the R360 of the year 1960, and also the first one that was on sale in Germany in 1973, the Mazda 616. It is also possible to see a mazda bus, absolutely vintage and what is probably the vehicle that more sympathy arouses among visitors for its irresistible design and aesthetic appearance, the three-wheeled light vehicle Mazda K360.
The vehicle that arouses the most sympathy
That the rotary engine is the great protagonist In the mechanics of a good part of the vehicles that are shown in this museum, it is clear when reading the explanatory sheets. The question is: why is it so important that kind of engine who turned half a century in 2017?
Let's move to late 1950s the last century. Many manufacturers around the world were then devoting significant R&D resources to refinement of the rotary engine invented by Félix Wankel in 1929, but most abandoned the effort as they were unable to solve the big problems. technical difficulties that brought this technology.
Mazda, which had bought its patent from Wankel in 1961 , remained firm in the effort and was the only manufacturer that managed solve all those complications and that came to manufacture the series rotary motors. After the launch of cosmo sports, Mazda built and marketed a long line of legendary rotary-powered vehicles, such as the Rotary Coupe Family, the Savanna, the RX-7, and the Eunos Cosmo.
Cosmo Sport was a before and after
The company also transferred this rotary technology to the car circuits, achieving a respectable fourth place in his debut in the competition with a Cosmo Sport 110S: the 1968 Route Marathon, a grueling race 84 hours on the German Nürburgring circuit.
This result led to a series of participations of Mazda in motor racing tests in the 70s and 80s: drag racing, touring car racing and world rally championships. Years later, in 1991, the Mazda 787B made history when he became the unique japanese car and the only one with a rotary engine to rise to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Currently, Mazda has a record of more than 100 wins in the Japanese touring car series and in the series of the IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) in the United States, with vehicles equipped with rotary engines.
Japanese engineering and design
Over the past several decades, Mazda engineers have continued to develop the rotary engine, optimizing your benefits . A task that culminated in April 2003, with the RX-8 launch , a sports car that mounted a new generation rotary engine called 'Renesis', with atmospheric aspiration.
Mazda had made Wankel's dream come true, exceeding all the expectations of the visionary German engineer, since the 'Renesis' was more compact, powerful and respectful more environmentally friendly than any previous rotary engine. Mazda engineers didn't stop with that and combined the technology of hydrogen engines Mazda with the new 'Renesis' engine, leading to the development of l hydrogen rotary engine , which does not emit CO2. In February 2006, the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE became the world's first vehicle equipped with a rotary hydrogen engine.
All this history is reflected in each and every one of the models that look glittery at the Frey Museum, a mandatory stop for all motor lovers who pass through Augsburg and want to enter the Japanese tradition of one of the manufacturers more important of that country.