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Say a high-pitched, frenzied 'happy birthday' to Mazda's rotary engine, which has just turned 40 years old.

Far from drooling into middle age, the rotary engine remains a seriously clever bit of kit.

First introduced in 1967 in the Mazda Cosmo Sport, which looks like it should have had a starring role in Thunderbirds, the rotary engine has had much success since.

In 1991, Mazda used a rotary engine to claim victory at Le Mans, making it the only Japanese manufacturer to win the 24 hours race.

And now we have the very cool - if not so very economical - Mazda RX-8.

Here's to another 40 years.