In the 80s, Japan's economy was in a boom - Japan-made products were being sold all over the world, and the entire country was teeming with money. Naturally, many companies, car manufacturers included, had the financial prowess to experiment and to come up with cutting-edge products.
Consequentially, many wonderful sports cars were introduced in the 90s, dubbed the golden era of Japanese sports cars. Nissan had the Skyline GT-R, Toyota had the Supra, Mitsubishi had the 3000GT/GTO, Honda had the NSX, and Mazda, the RX-7. While all these JDM legends were amazing in their own rights, the RX-7 had something special going for it - its unique engine.
On this installation of Motoring Icons, we are going to dive into the Rotary-powered sports car from the 90s: The Mazda RX-7 FD.
Powertrain
Engine: 13B-REW 1,308cc twin-rotor twin-turbo Rotary engine
Horsepower: 236bhp - 261bhp
Torque: 294Nm
Drivetrain layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive
History of the Mazda RX-7 FD
Released towards the tail-end of 1991, the FD is the third generation of Mazda's RX-7 line of sports cars. In case you are wondering, 'FD' is derived from the chassis code (FD3S) of these cars - it succeeds the FC (second generation) and FB/SA22C (first generation) RX-7s.
Powered by the 13B-REW twin-rotor rotary engine, the RX-7 FD is the first RX-7 to be equipped with twin-turbochargers. Unlike most twin-turbo setups that see the job of generating boost split equally between two turbochargers, the FD has a sequential twin-turbo, with one turbo catering to low rpms, and the other for the higher rev range.
While all three generations of RX-7 are sleek two-door coupes with pop-up head lights, the FD's design was quite a departure from the original design language. Both the SA22C and the FC are boxy and had more sharp edges than curves, but the FD had rounded edges and swoopy curves. As a result, the FD's design is widely regarded as a timeless one that still looks amazing when compared against modern machinery.
Allure - beautiful and timeless sports car with a unique powertrain
To explain the allure of the RX-7 FD and, to a large part, its predecessors, you'll have to start with its unique engine. Sending power to the rear wheels of the RX-7 is the iconic 13B rotary engine. Unlike your conventional internal combustion engines, which feature reciprocating pistons within cylinders, the rotary engine doesn't have any pistons, conrods or a valvetrain.
The rotary engine, also known as a Wankel engine, uses a triangular shaped rotor that rotates while guided by gears around the eccentric output shaft, and within a housing with ports for intake and exhaust. The edges of the rotor seals against the wall of the housing, resulting in three constantly moving chambers as the rotor rotates. Hence, each side of the rotor will complete the four-stage Otto cycle of intake, compression, expansion and exhaust as the rotor rotates, and having three sides, three power pulses are generated with each rotation of the rotor.
Yes, how a rotary engine works is complicated and confusing, but the takeaway from this is that due to its design, the rotary engine is much more compact (and lightweight), runs smoothly, is powerful and can rev to higher rpms.
Much of the allure of the RX-7 is due to its engine - the compact footprint and low weight of the engine makes the low nose possible, and it also helps with a lower centre of gravity along with other packaging benefits such as better weight distribution. Its ability to rev high and smoothly, all while generating a unique soundtrack, further adds to the car's character. Of course, its potential to produce plenty of power also makes it an enthusiast favourite.
Engine aside, the RX-7 FD is an elegant sports coupe that is known for its excellent handling and performance.
Cultural significance - Motorsport, Anime, Movies, Games, the FD is a legend!
This could very well be one of the most popular sports cars out there. The RX-7 FD is a pop icon - it is driven by one of the protagonists in the Initial D anime, featured in all kinds of games including Need For Speed, Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsports, and also often used in motorsports.
Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift features an iconic orange and black RX-7 FD heavily modified by Japanese tuner Veilside as Han's car. In Initial D, Keisuke drives a yellow FD that is eventually modified with a widebody kit and various parts from RX-7 specialist RE Amemiya.
RE Amemiya participated in the All-Japan Grand Touring car Championship with a modified RX-7 FD in 1995. Around the world, the RX-7 FD is a popular car for track duties, along with drifting. The A'PEXI Stage D RX-7 FD was an iconic drift car that participated in the D1GP drift championship.
Being such a well-loved sports car, there are countless aftermarket upgrades available for the RX-7 FD. Brands such as Mazda's now-defunct in-house performance division, Mazdaspeed, along with RE Amemiya, SCOOT, Panspeed, Fujita Engineering, and R Magic, are just some of the famous companies that specialise in rotary-powered cars such as the RX-7. Many of these brands have also created iconic examples of highly-modified RX-7 FDs that are well loved by car enthusiasts.
Outside of Japan, the RX-7 FD and its rotary engine also see plenty of love. Another interesting thing about rotary engines is how the engine is kind of 'modular', in the sense that with a longer eccentric shaft, you can combine more rotors together to create a larger and more powerful engine. As a result, there are aftermarket rotary engines featuring four or more rotors (the four rotor is typically called a 26B) - Pulse Performance from New Zealand even offers a six-rotor engine that is designed to produce over 820 horsepower without forced induction!
In fact, Mazda's own legendary Le Mans-winning 787B was equipped with a four-rotor 26B engine that produces 690bhp at 9,000rpm!
Rare, expensive and eccentric
There aren't many RX-7 FDs left in Singapore, and there's currently just one unit on the used car market, asking for a price that works out to over $60,000 in annual depreciation. Such ludicrous pricing means it wouldn't make much sense to buy an RX-7 FD even if you are attracted to it.
Additionally, rotary engines, while unique, aren't known to be the easiest to maintain. Anecdotes suggest these engines typically require a rebuild every 100,000km or lesser - normal piston engines would only require a major servicing at such a mileage. Furthermore, the quirkiness of the rotary engine means you'll need to approach specialist workshops to ensure the best care for them as well.
Hence, owning an RX-7 FD is not something that is easily achievable in Singapore, nor would it make plenty of sense - especially with the LTA regulations restricting you from heavily modifying these cars, which is what they are really meant for, if you were to ask me.
If you still want to drive something that is powered by a rotary engine, a Mazda RX-8, the successor of the RX-7, would be your best choice - these are still available in the market for a reasonable cost. However, the RX-8 isn't turbocharged and its shape is a drastic departure from the RX-7 FD's timeless design.
Enjoyed reading about the RX-7 FD? Here are some other iconic cars that you can read about:
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