1979 Mazda Rx7
The 1979 Mazda RX7 was a revolutionary entrant into automotive performance and design. It competed with the forerunners of the day and beat them nearly every time in speed, handling, driveability, and price. Original starting price was only $5495 and it was powered by the amazing Wankel rotary engine, originally designed as an aircraft engine, recently purchased and refined by Mazda.
The rotary engine is unique in the fact that it has no cylinders, a wide power band, high revs, and takes up very little space. The engine had been available in other Mazdas of the day but the RX7 was the first car designed totally from the ground up for the rotary engine. It employed a unique front mounted, mid engine (behind the front axle centerline), RWD platform with amazing 50/50 weight distribution, a limited slip differentaial (making cornering a dream), a 5spd gear box, and options such as cruise control, air conditioning, and a sunroof. The unique body design, with it's clam shell hood and pop up lights, was very sleek for the time and reminiscient of a Porsche or a 240Z, both cars that were considered in the same class as the RX7. It was faster, lighter, better handling, and cheaper than those competitors as well. The 1979 RX7 has been described as one of the best handling cars, and pound for pound was one of the best sports cars for it's entire model run.
Mazda succeeded in designing a small, lightweight, agile and truly fun to drive sports car. Add in the fact that the curious little rotary engine sounded like more like a finely tuned Italian exotic more so than a whiny little import car and you have a formula for success. The styling caught your eye but the performance kept you interested. The rotary engine used by Mazda was only 1.1 liter in displacement but provided the horsepower of a regular piston engine twice that size. Combined with the nature of the engine to have a smooth flowing power delivery and a staggeringly high redline of 7000rpm, this car may have been the inspiration for the Zoom Zoom commercials Mazda uses currently. The Wankel engine does have some negative points as well. It was a very thirsty little engine to introduce during the oil crises of the 70's. Twenty miles to the gallon on the highway with cruise was possible but driving the car like it was supposed to be driven can drop your economy into the single digits at times. It was offered as a naturally aspirated (carbureted) initially, with fuel injection being offered in later models. Rotary engines, by design, drink oil. And there seems to be a fatal flaw in the design of the Apex seals on the front and rear of the engine. If your engine ever broke one of those seals, it was imminently doomed to require an extremely long and arduous task of removing, disassembling, and cursing, followed by reassembly, cursing, and replacement, and more cursing.
The unique flow of the body, the placement of the engine, the cozy interior, and the whine of the Wankel, truly made this a captivatingly fun car to drive. It was commonly sold out within the first few months of a model year and there were people clamoring in line at dealerships to buy this cheap little alternative to a Porsche. To this day, it is still a head turner and invokes questions as to what year, model, etc... People are often surprised at the age of the car, thinking that it's only 10 years old or so, because of its timeless, efficient, and clean lines. This little car revamped Mazda's image in the 70's with the RX7 accounting for nearly half of their sales in the late 70's alone. The cute little car with the curious engine has captured many a driver's imagination and provided countless others with a large smile on their faces as they scream off into the sunset. This is truly a driver's car and is hungry for twisting mountain curves and long straight desert highways.
