Alex Unleashed on Cars- Mazda RX-7 (Dare to be Different)

 

I think it’s fair to say that cars are all becoming a bit samey, I mean, have you seen the Renault range? All of them except the Clio and 5EV look the same. But can you blame them? When manufactures' dare to be different, they often flop in sales but eventually can become the apple of enthusiast’s eyes. Just look at the Mazda RX-7.

First things first, it is most certainly a good-looking car, most Japanese cars at the time were very square, boxy designs, and yet here’s a very swooping curvy , European design, it’s very probably the best-looking Japanese car to date.

So, it looks different but is also very unique under the skin. The engine is a classic Mazda rotary engine, it’s only a 1.3 but it has 2 turbo’s that make 236 BHP (in UK spec) and can propel the featherweight coupe to 60 in little over 5 seconds. It’s very fast and when you get to a corner, you find grip and very strong brakes, it stops from 70 in just 44.8 metres, a BMW M3 EVO takes 48.3 metres. For a car that cost just £25,000 it most certainly delivers in the performance department, no wonder it got plenty of awards back in the day. Sadly, the Mazda badge can’t compare to a BMW, Porsche or Audi badge, hence why the RX-7 sold in such small numbers, in fact only 210 were sold in the UK, with a solitary 1 sold in 1997.

(That said, it was less of a flop in other territories, notably being sold until 2002 in Spirit R spec over in Japan.)

But what say an Audi S2 or Porsche 968 doesn’t have, is an extensive racing pedigree. RX-7’s have been used in everything from IMSA to Le Mans and had promising results, notably winning the 24 hours of Spa in 1981, the version I’m talking about though, the FD MK3 gained its notoriety in JGTC where it competed in the lower GT300 class where it raced notably under team RE Amemiya who raced it from 1995-2010 taking the class win in 2006 against much new designs.

It would also be useful to mention the RX-7’s presence in the Fast & Furious movies, in fact, the Veilside version seen in Tokyo Drift has gained a cult status alongside it’s driver Han, even if the fixed front lights make it hard to actually identify as an RX-7. Speaking of drifting, the RX-7 found a cult status over in professional drifting as well, what with it’s rear-wheel drive setup and highly tuneable engine, it along with the Nissan 200SX became prime choices for drifters.

So as you can probably tell a lot of people revere the RX-7, whether your race it, drift it or just drive to work, it's an amazing piece of kit, okay it’s heavy on fuel and oil, and the ride is bumpy. But a car that looks like this, goes like this and has so much history, pedigree and uniqueness prove that whilst a more mainstream coupe might do better financially, it’s those that truly dare to be different that will live on in our hearts and minds. Expect values to sky rocket in the future, it did for all the other JDM legends.

(All Specs are for the UK Version)

Year Produced: 1993-1997

Engine: 1.3 litre 2 Rotar Twin Turbo

Top Speed: 155 MPH

0-60: 5.5 Seconds

Power: 236 BHP

Torque: 217 Ib/ft

Weight: 1325 KG

Rivals: Renault Alpine A610, Porsche 968 Clubsport, Nissan 300ZX, BMW M3 E36, Audi S2 Coupe

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