The best Mazda museum in the world isn't in Japan

​Roadpacer, Parkway, AZ-1,  MX-5 Coupe, Luce R130, Rotary Pick-up and Pathfinder are some of the rarest Mazdas ever built, but you'll have to follow our footsteps to an old tram shed in Germany to see them in one spot.

Anyone lucky enough to have been behind closed doors at Mazda HQ in Hiroshima will likely have seen Mazda's own collection of motoring milestones. 

This is where you'll find the 1990 Le Mans-winning 787B, but it's a pretty tight space and limited to around 20 rotating highlights of Mazda's past. 

If you ever find yourself in Augsburg, Germany like I did this week, there's more than twice as many special Mazdas on show, and they're not just highlights either. 

Some examples were downright flops, and some are just weird. All prove there's no car company quite like Mazda.

There are 44 cars on display, more than Mazda have at its own Hiroshima HQ. (image credit: Malcolm Flynn)

The Mazda Classic - Automobil Museum Frey is also the newest Mazda museum in the world, having opened its converted tram shed doors in May. 

The Mazda Classic - Automobil Museum Frey is the newest Mazda museum in the world, having opened its converted tram shed doors in May. (image credit: Malcolm Flynn)

I went there (with just a phone camera, sorry) hoping to simply see a Cosmo Sport 110 S, but couldn't believe how much more is there to behold. 

The 44 cars on display are part of a 120-odd collection owned by the Frey family, who've made a name for themselves with a prominent Mazda dealership in Augsburg. 

Marcus Frey explains that unlike some collections, their’s is not about making money from appreciating values, but is simply for the love of collecting Mazdas. 

This love extends to scouring the world for new additions, including their Roadpacer, which was sourced from New Zealand after initially being found in Australia after being sold new in Japan in 1975.

Yes, you are looking at a HJ Holden Premier with Mazda badges, but would you believe it's got a 13B rotary under the bonnet?

Built in Australia and shipped to Japan, the Roadpacer had its Wankel engine fitted by Mazda, plus a bespoke interior fit-out. 

Elements we never saw on the Holden version include remote side mirror controls, dual cigarette lighters in the back of the centre console, a boot-mounted fridge, boot carpet and even Mazda seatbelts, but it smells just like any other HQ-WB interior. 

The only external distinctions I picked aside from unique badging are the fender mounted side mirrors and reverse lights recessed into the rear bumper - Australian models still used the amber indicators for reversing lights at the time. 

The story goes that Mazda was after a quick and cheap solution to their lack of executive transport at the time, and the Roadpacer was it. But with less than half the torque (138Nm) of the HJ Holden’’s already-strangled 5.0-litre V8,  it wasn't quick in the performance sense, and pretty half-arsed for such an innovative brand. 

Another Aussie-sourced gem is the rare 1000 Coupe, but the Parkway bus, MX-5 Coupe and Luce R130 from Japan and the Rotary Pick-up tow truck are the rarest on show. 

Perhaps the weakest element of the Mazda rotary to date is its relative lack of torque, so how the 13B rotary found its way into a Toyota Coaster-sized passenger bus beggars belief. But it did, and Marcus Frey believes his example is the only remaining in the world with its rotary engine still fitted. 

Fans of torsional rigidity have been pining for a fixed-roof version of the MX-5 since the first appeared in 1988, but you may not realise they actually built one. They built 200 in fact, toward the end of the NB model's life for the Japanese domestic market.

Mazda has a history of ambitious projects that reach production but not commercial success, and the Luce R130 is a classic example.

Bertone-designed and Mazda's first front-wheel drive model (with a longitudinally-mounted and unique 13A rotary engine), the flagship coupe also introduced power windows, power rack and pinion steering and air conditioning. Mazda buyers clearly weren't ready for a luxury GT coupe though, with just 400 built. 

Australia scored the Rotary Pick-up in piston-engined guise as the B1500, but some bright spark decided to pop a torque-deficient 13B rotary under the bonnet for the US market.

Some 16,272 were sold, but the Freys' example is one of 600 tow truck models built with a dual rear wheels. I can't imagine the 13B would have been much use for pulling stricken cars either. 

One car made in decent numbers but you've likely never heard of (I hadn't) is the Mazda Pathfinder. No, it's not a Nissan G60 Patrol spinoff or any Nissan at all, or even a Land Rover relative for that matter, but a genuine Mazda off-road vehicle from the early '70s. 

The reason it's probably slipped under your radar is because it was only sold in Myanmar (Burma at the time). 

With longitudinal rear bench seats and another bench up front it's designed to seat nine - two more than a Nissan Pathfinder, but the Nissan offers more than vinyl benches - and is appreciably larger overall than a G60 Patrol or Land Rover. 

Another car made in decent numbers (4,392) but with a cult following driven by its sheer awesomeness is the Autozam AZ-1. 

With gullwing doors and Kei-car dimensions, it could be confused with a mid-sized insect. 

The Freys' example is wearing a bunch of Mazdaspeed visual upgrades, so it looks more like a Crossfit-obsessed insect. 

The rest of the display forms a walk down Mazda history lane from 1950-1995. 

Cars still on the Frey wishlist include the Australian-developed NB-8C MX-5 SP and an RX-8, but they're hell-bent on a yellow example with the optional sat nav. If you know of a good example of either, let them know. 

The Freys have another 80-odd Mazdas stored elsewhere, plus examples of every rotary engined machine they can get their hands on (NSUs, Citroens, motorcycles and even lawnmowers), but we'll hopefully get behind the scenes next time…

Is the Frey collection missing your dream Mazda? Tell us in the comments.