The Mazda RX-7 was a sports car that Mazda produced between the years of’78 and 2002. One unique feature of this particular car is that it featured the Wankel engine. The RX-7 replaced the RX-3 and eventually replaced all of Mazda’s rotary engine vehicles except the Cosmo.

The rotary engine in the first of the RX-7s was only 1150 cc. The motor featured a twin rotor engine and the vehicle was rear wheel drive. Wankel invented his engine in Germany, but Mazda is one of the few car manufacturers to ever successfully use these engines. The company faced an uphill climb as they went through the fuel crisis of the’70s with the engine that burned more fuel.

One advantage the rotary engine offers is its lightweight construction. Rotary engines can be built to be weighing much less that the normal piston engine. Owners of the Mazdas often bragged about how smooth these engines could run.

Mazda found that it was easy to modify the engine to meet tougher emissions standards without use of a catalytic converter, however, these modifications caused the RX-7 to use even more fuel. Finally, by’84, fuel use was improved to 29 mpg highway and’ mpg city. For the RX-8, fuel economy matches other vehicles of the same class and weight.

Mazda introduced the RX-7 as a sports coupe. The sports coupe featured the mid mounted engine for greater stability. In the United Sates, the coupe was a two seater although in Japan the four seat edition was introduced. In the U. S. There was an option for a dealer installed option of two back seats.

The second generation RX-7 introduced in the mid to late 80s was styled to look much like a Porsche. Additionally, the RX-7 convertible was introduced in’88. Production of the convertible continued until’92. The convertible was rated as one of the best convertibles ever produced.

The third generation RX-7 was introduced in’92 and sales of the RX-7 were halted in the United States in’95, with only a limited number of vehicles being sent to the United States in that year, although the vehicle continued to be sold in other parts of the world.

Worldwide Mazda introduced the RX-8 to replace the RX-7. The United States saw their first models in 2001 at auto shows, however sales were delayed until 2004. The RX-8 still uses Mazda’s tradition of rotary engines. Seating in the RX-8, however is designed for four persons.

Andy Zain is the admin of Mazda RX-7 Club , a place where fans and owners can get the right information for tuning, customization and general discussions on anything about Mazda RX-7. Get the information you need when you visit Mazda Discussion Forums

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