The LA4 Luce Legato offered something almost no luxury sedan did at the time — a genuine choice between a piston engine, a rotary, and from 1980 a 2.2-litre diesel, all in the same body.
Lead trim: 1800 (LA4V, 83 PS) · up to 125 hp
Mazda Luce Legato LA41977–1981
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Mazda Luce Legato LA4 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe LA4 Luce Legato offered something almost no luxury sedan did at the time — a genuine choice between a piston engine, a rotary, and from 1980 a 2.2-litre diesel, all in the same body.
The Luce Legato, introduced as the LA4 series in October 1977, was a large and luxurious sedan still powered by Mazda's piston or rotary engines, and also offered as a four-door pillarless hardtop that looked like a huge, square coupé and as a wagon, which continued in production until March 1988. The Japanese authorities would not allow what they considered a name change, so it was officially sold simply as the Luce, but export models received the "929L" name, becoming the second-generation 929; a rotary-engined version was exported to "general issue" countries as the RX-9. The design was American-inspired, with stacked rectangular headlights and a large chrome grille, and it was not sold in North America. A facelifted LA4 with rectangular headlights and a more European front was first presented in Japan in October 1979, and a 2.2-litre diesel was produced from August 1980 to July 1981 for the sedan. Sedan production ran from October 1977 to October 1981.
Collectors Spotted in the Mazda Luce Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Mazda Luce yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
5 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13B rotary (LA43, 127 PS) | 1977–1981 | 1.3 L Rotary | 125 hp | 138 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 1800 (LA4V, 83 PS) | 1977–1981 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 82 hp | 101 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 2.2 diesel (S2, 66 PS) | 1980–1981 | 2.2 L Inline-4 | 65 hp | 104 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 (F/MA, 90 PS) | 1977–1981 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 89 hp | 118 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 fuel-injected (120 PS, Japan hardtop) | 1980–1981 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 118 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The HC-generation Luce secretly came in two different bodies — a pillared sedan and a larger pillarless hardtop — sharing identical engines and interiors underneath.
A taxi-spec LPG version of this Luce kept rolling off the line as the "Custom Cab" until December 1995 — nearly a decade after the HB generation officially ended.
The LA4 Luce Legato offered something almost no luxury sedan did at the time — a genuine choice between a piston engine, a rotary, and from 1980 a 2.2-litre diesel, all in the same body.
In Japan, choosing this car's rotary engine over the piston option wasn't just faster — it also meant a smaller annual road tax bill.
Mazda almost built this Luce in South Africa — 50 cars were shipped over for evaluation in 1967, before Mazda chose to put its local assembly effort into the smaller Familia and pickups instead.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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