The trick, when looking for a suitable CC, is to be patient and never give up hope. For over six years, ever since moving to Tokyo, I kept an eye out for a 3rd gen (or FD) Mazda RX-7. There are a lot of them about, but I had some pretty strict conditions: I wanted to find a pre-1997 car, because those were badged under the short-lived ɛ̃fini marque. The other imperative was that it had to be as stock as possible.
Those two conditions made this CC hunt particularly challenging. It’s logical that more recent Mazda-badged cars (1997-2002) are also the most numerous, so that was always going to make things difficult.
But that was a comparatively minor issue, as the temptation to alter these RX-7s seems to be impossible to resist. Some of them were so extensively modded as to be almost unrecognizable; many are sloppily maintained and nearly all come festooned with the usual boi-racer aftermarket bits.
The above, which I randomly found the very day I finished writing this post, is a somewhat extreme example of the condition most 3rd gen RX-7s typically display (the bizarre Ontario license plate aside). That just wouldn’t do.
Then, a few weeks ago, I finally found The One. Bonus points for the lack of rear spoiler, another rarity for these RX-7s. And yes, it does have a stupid fart can for a tailpipe, but that’s really the only nit that needs to be picked. There had to be one, wasn’t there?
The RX-7’s first generation (SA/FB, 1978-85) was, in some ways, still rather primitive, what with its live axle, 4-speed manual and, for most cars, a modest 105-140hp Wankel engine. But it already had some typical RX-7 features, such as 50/50 weight distribution and it pioneered the use of the turbocharger for the rotary. the second RX-7 (FC, 1985-91) emphasized comfort over sportiness, as exemplified by the creation of a convertible version. But it also brought the car into line with modernity: a full IRS, standard disc brakes all round and rack-and-pinion steering made the Mazda a lot more competent. Power output was in the 200hp range by the end of its tenure, so the FC was heavier but still quicker than its predecessor.
For the third generation, Mazda’s aim was to go after the likes of the Nissan Fairlady Z, the Mitsubishi GTO or the Toyota Supra, i.e. larger sports cars with 6-cyl. engines, albeit while keeping external dimensions and weight in check. Well, weight was definitely high on the agenda, with many components and body panels being optimized for lightness.
Dimensions-wise, the RX-7 grew a bit wider than its predecessors, and thus fell into the same tax band as the aforementioned larger 6-cyl. sports cars. This put a damper on domestic sales, but then so did the fact that the car was launched almost at the same time as the popping of Japan’s massive Economic Bubble.
Perhaps that goes some way to explain why this RX-7’s design was so curvy. It was chiefly credited to Wu Huan Chin, working under Tsutomo Matano (the folks who also created the Miata) at Mazda North American Operations, based in California.
The interior was done in Hiroshima, though. All rather non-descript, plasticky and ‘90s, as expected.
Since 1989, the RX-7 had been rebadged under the ɛ̃fini brand in Japan; this was carried over to the FD models when thy debuted in December 1991. The distinctive triangular serpentine logo was applied to all sides, but the Mazda name was still visible here and there. Our feature car is a later ɛ̃fini model, known as the Series 7, launched in 1996 with a mild facelift, chiefly identifiable by the triple round taillights.
In September 1997, the ɛ̃fini marque was officially retired and RX-7 reverted to being the Mazda it always was everywhere but the JDM. The lack of tail spoiler on this car probably makes it the base spec, also known as RB in the Japanese range. Higher grades were called RB Bathurst, Touring X, RS and RZ. Only the Touring X, by the mid-‘90s, could be ordered with a 4-speed auto, all other cars were 5-speed manuals. The 1.3 litre twin-turbocharged dual-rotor engine, by 1996, produced 265hp when paired with a manual transmission.
Production of the now Mazda RX-7 carried on until August 2002. In total, only about 53k units were made over a decade, which wasn’t a lot. By comparison, the preceding generation managed over 270k units between 1985 and 1992. Ouch.
You’d think that would be all the more reason to preserve a few in stock form, but apparently not. RX-7s need to be protected from RX-7 owners, at least in this country. They’re really quite attractive, when left alone. The RX-7s, not the owners.
Related post:
Curbside Cartoon Character: Mazda RX-7 FD Drift Racer, by Thomas Kreutzer
Possibly the most attractive car of the Nineties, certainly in the top five of cars sold in the USA at that time. Which makes it all the more baffling why anyone would want to ruin the lines with oversized wings and vented carbon fiber hoods. I don’t think white suits this design well, it conceals too much. But as you stated, a clean one is rare and you have to go with what you have.
JDM fans go wild over the A80 Supra but that car took it’s Mustang ambitions completely to heart. It was heavy, imperfectly balanced and had more horsepower than most drivers could harness. On the other hand, the RX-7 was built to perfection. Except for that mess of vacuum lines that became a cause of frustration for many owners.
A truly remarkable find!
A great car with a sub-par interior. So surprising Mazda accepted it.
I recall these as Mazdas, but you found a white unicorn. Incredible!
Easily my nominee for the most attractive car of all time but the reliability was always enough to keep me far away.
Fantastic find. As possibly the best looking car of the 90s I cannot fathom how almost every one is modified. They almost always look significantly worst than stock.
I know a lot of people do not like the interior in these but it has always looked just fine and functional to me.
I would love an early stock car in that lovely yellow colour but the model’s reputation for being fragile was always enough to keep me away. Now they are quite expensive to buy on top of that.
Superbly styled,and a terrific handler. They’ve become quite rare over here too.
“It’s logical that more recent Mazda-badged cars (1997-2002) are also the most numerous”
Oh? The impression I had that the vast majority of a model’s sales in Japan came in the first year or two, then trickled off rather drastically after that. Or, were you thinking that most of the clean survivors from the earlier years would have been exported by now?
Merely going by my personal emprical observations, I see more Mazda-badged cars than ɛ̃fini-badged ones. To be entirely fair, there are quite a few (maybe a plurality) that have no badging at all.
I don’t know if these are being actively exported, but the longer a car like an RX-7 stays on the road, the likelier it is to get scrapped. So it would make some sense that the newer ones would be likelier to survive.
Just beautiful.
I was reading up on RX7s the other day, and hadn’t realised they were initially ɛ̃finis. (had to copy and paste that)
Just how were we supposed to pronounce ɛ̃fini anyway, with what looks like a tilde over the e? Only it’s not an e is it, it’s a Greek epsilon – which sounds the same. And Greek doesn’t use a tilde anywhere, to my knowledge. But that’s the only letter that’s Greek…
What a crazy name! Mazda is much easier to figure out.
Yeah, Mazda outdid themselves on that name, didn’t they? “Let’s invent a letter than nobody will know how to pronounce” sounds like a recipe for disaster, until you realize the name was always also written in katakana, so everyone knew how Mazda wanted it pronounced.
And it’s pronounced “anfini” (in katakana: アンフィニ). The original thought was to use the ∞ infinity symbol as the logo, apparently. “Anfini” is more or less how you’d say infinity in French, FWIW. None of it makes much sense. And Mazda must have been aware that Nissan were going to launch Infiniti in 1989, leading to potential confusion between the two marques. Just one of the many marketing mistakes Mazda committed in that era.
Thanks. Inquiring minds now know, and will probably forget.
Believe it or not, they didn’t actually invent it — “ɛ̃fini” is exactly how the pronunciation of the French word “infini” is transcribed in the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infini. The epsilon represents a particular vowel sound and the tilde indicates that the vowel is nasalized.
Not that this makes it any less of a bizarre choice for a brand name!
Amazing! But you said it, Will – a bizarre choice.
I love the FD — gorgeous, stupid quick, very nimble. As an ownership proposition, I understand they’re fragile, finicky, and require a high-level of dedication, and I’m under no illusions that I wouldn’t kill myself on a wet winding road.
Gorgeous things. Early ones had Bridgestone S-02s like the S2000 and thus a reputation for snappy handling. Even LJKS managed to fall off the road in a Cosmo…
I’m sure the interior is perfectly ergonomic and all cars have interiors made of plastic. So I’m a bit spectrum on that. OK, I get that the cheesy, slightly translucent plastics Nissan used to use were a bit nauseating, but that’s not the same as this.
How does a Japanese actually pronounce ɛ̃fini? I’m used to my Regendo, but I’ve never been sure about that tilda. Heavy Metal umlaut, I’ve always presumed.
See my reply to Pete above — “Anfini” is how it’s meant to be pronounced…
Thanks Tatra!
What is it with the time stamp – it looks like you replied to my question eight hours before I posted it..?
That’s just a time zone display discrepancy.