Affordable, sleek and light as a feather. It bursts onto the scene just as the world
was recovering from the gas crisis. Almost forty years later you can still find it tearing
up tracks and endurance races around the world. For many cars you can describe the engine's
sound with a word like. Hum. Purr. Roar. They were here to spend time with an iconic car
whose engine noise could be described as a barrel of angry bees!
Not the bees!
This is everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Mazda RX-7.
It would be impossible to discuss the RX-7 without talking about its engine. A Wankel
rotary engine. What is a Wankel rotary engine Pumphrey? The rotary engine works of the geometric
principle of inscribed triangles inside of an ... f*** f*** dude. The rotary engine works
of the geometric principle of inscribed triangles inside of an epitrichoid figure. Enormous
words to describe the slightly mesmerizing movement of a triangle trapped in a pinched oval.
As the triangle-piston rotates it creates three areas inside of the compartment. The
faces of combustion occur around the outside of the triangle as it spins. The rotary engine
was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel when he was a f*** teenager. Didn't get around
to actually marketing the engine until after World War II while he was working for a motorcycle
company named N.S.U. Nebraska State University holler! In 1959 N.S.U. invited a group of
engineers and leaders of the automotive industry from around the world to see Wankel's rotary
engine. One of the men was Matsuda, head of what was then called Toyo Kogyo and they had
made their money creating auto-rickshaws and later trucks under the name Mazda-Go. Matsuda
loved the Wankel. He immediately licensed it from N.S.U and brought the prototype
to Japan. He essentially bet the farm on the engine. And in 1961 told his chief engineer
that it needed to be reliable and production ready as soon as possible. Within the first
hour of running the prototype the motor ceased. Within a few days it had blown itself up.
Yamamoto's job was gonna be a lot harder than he thought. The main problem was the tips
of the triangular-piston. As it spun around it left chattering wear marks on the inside
of the chamber. The team called them devil's nail marks. It was only after Yamamoto had
a eureka moment while writing that they solved the problem. Using graphite from the pencil
leads the created apex-seals. RX-7 guys you know that word. And they gave the rotor smooth
movement around the chamber without chattering. When all was said and done after eighty prototype
cars Mazda released the Cosmo Sport 1 10 in 1967. Their very first rotary-sports car.
The Cosmo and the rest of Mazda's rotary fleet sold really well until the gas crisis hit.
Now these are the gas prices last year, these are the gas prices this year.
In 1978
the markets had recovered enough for them to debut their new rotary sports car. The Mazda RX-7.
The RX-7 known as the Savanna in Japan was meant as a direct replacement for the RX-3
series. The RX-7 ended up indirectly replacing all of the other rotary cars except the Cosmo.
Mazda retired everything else in 1977. It was inspired by the Lotus Elan and the first
series referred to as the SA because of the beginning of the VIN series. It was a light,
two-seat-coupe. Mazda called it front mid-shift-rear-drive
since the Wankel 12A engine was sitting slightly
behind the front axle. This gave the car a low center of gravity and good weight distribution.
She's a good-looking girl, she got good weight distribution.
While the engine was definitely
light and it packed quite a punch.
Falcon punch!
The RX-7 could go from 0 to 60 in 9.2 seconds
and ran at 100mph at six thousand rpm. Unlike a normal reciprocating engine,
the rotary needed to be driven to red-line on a fairly regular basis. Mazda actually
recommends running it to red-line in order to both clear out the carbon deposits and to
keep the oil at the right temperature and viscosity.
Now that's what I am talking about.
And what kid form the 70's and 80's couldn't get behind a car with pop-up f*** headlights.
Come to think of it I am still behind anything with pop-up headlights. All three series of
RX-7's were released in the U.S. with the FB name attached to the series 2 and 3. Series
3 saw the introduction of the 1.3L 13b engine. The RX-7 was already becoming a darling of
the club racing level. It was fast and very light. And it handled beautifully. As long
as you had fuel in the tank because if you had an empty tank it would spin.
In 1985 the year I was born Mazda redesigned the RX-7 for my birthday and the second generation
was born. This time they took inspiration from the Porsche 944 and the FC RX-7'S were
closer to a touring car with sport's car highlights than the first gen pure sports car. The series
4 produced from 1986 to '88 came standard with the 13b DEI engine. With a turbo version
available with 189 horsepower. Mazda also finally got around to upgrading to rack and
pinion steering. Which greatly improved what could politely be called its tendency to over-steer.
It also traded out the clunky drum brakes for discs and the series 5 inched up the horsepower
to 160. And finally to 200 with the introduction of the turbo II. The coolest car in Initial D.
The FC was Motor Trend's import car of the year in 1986 and the Turbo II earned its second placement
in Car and Driver's ten best list as well.
But even after adding a convertible top the best RX-7 was yet to come.
In 1992 Mazda released the futuristic looking third
gen series 6 RX-7. Finally embracing its sports car identity it came standard with a 13B-REW
sequential twin-turbo engine. The twin-turbos had been designed in part by Hitachi and worked
together to give smooth acceleration. The first turbo supplied extra torque at low rpm's
which had always been an issue for the rotary engine. And operated between eighteen-hundred
and four thousand rpm. The second set on standby until it reached four thousand. With the actual
seamless change-over occurring at forty-five hundred.
Enough, you want my head to explode?!
The international community however was going to have to satisfied with this last imported
version. Due in part to Japanese financial crisis in the 90's. Ford took over as a controlling
interest in Mazda in 1996. The series 7 RX-7 released soon after was only available in
Japan and Australia. It's final iteration the series 8 was released in Japan only with
a myriad of upgrades. More efficient turbo chargers, better intercooling and radiators,
new lighting design, more comfortable seats, 17-in wheels. And more power.
Power, power.
But alas they were not for us. Mazda did introduce the RX-8 in 2003 and we got it. For many Mazda
fans, the heavier less sleek and less powerful RX-8 was no substitute for the legendary RX-7.
The engine was more fuel efficient and had better emissions ratings, but at the cost
of less torque. Problems with failure on the apex seals. And in some cases on the first
gen cars, total engine failure. Even increased fuel efficiency couldn't save the RX-8 from
the economic crash of 2008. And it was retired in 2012. While the RX-7 is no longer in production
it has left a lasting impression in the automotive world and in all of our hearts. The RX-7 was
a constant presence in the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. From its first missed
by a second to qualify in 1979. To its eventual 1991 dominance with the iconic 787b. Still
one of the most beautiful cars to grace the circuit. The RX-7 dominated the IMSA GTU series
for ten solid years. From 1982 though '92. And won more IMSA races than any other model.
It even made an appearance in eleventh place at the world rally championship in 1991. Not
bad for a car three quarters the size of a Corvette with an engine prone to backfiring
and burning through apex seals. Every few years Mazda teases us with news of a new rotary
or a new RX-7. But so far they've not returned their classic. Here's hoping that one day
they'll make it efficient enough to pass new emissions standards and still retain the pure
fun of the old one. This is everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Mazda
RX-7. Please click to subscribe. Comment down below. How are we doing? Do you like RX-7's?Are
FD's worth the price now? What's your favorite generation of RX-7? Let us know. Whoo.