Early RX-7s rarely see 20 mpg highway and can be driven down into single digits; owners laugh at later claims of 30 mpg





By the late 1970s, the sports car world was looking bleak indeed. A 1975 Road & Track comparison test of the Maserati Merak, Lamborghini Urraco, and Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 showed none of these detoxed beasts to be capable of a sub-eight-second 0-60 mph run. It was far worse for mainstream sports cars.

The Triumph TR6 was gone, replaced by the trainwreck that was the TR7. The MG B was wheezing along with just 68 hp and comical bumpers. The Datsun 240Z had morphed into the bloated two-tone discomobile that was the 280ZX, and the Porsche of the future-the 924-was an overpriced, underpowered, hard-riding mistake.

In short, the sports car world was ripe for the second coming of the original 240Z- and that's just what Mazda sought to do. In fact, the original ad for the 1979 RX-7 had images of the MG TC and the 240Z in the background.

Mazda introduced the RX-7 in the spring of 1978 as a '79 model. It was an instant hit, and 474,565 first-generation cars would be built by 1985, with 377,878 sold in the U.S. alone. Road & Track hailed it as a major breakthrough for the enthusiast-although they were lukewarm about the styling, which they viewed as derivative. In fact, it does resemble a Porsche 924 from the front, with a dash of TVR 2500M in the rear.

Price gouging not seen since the 240Z



At the original price of $6,395, there were waiting lists and price gouging by dealers on a scale not seen since the Datsun 240Z. Early buyers could reckon to get all their money back if they resold the car within the first year or so. From a performance standpoint, the RX-7 and the 240Z were evenly matched. Both would do 0-60 mph in under nine seconds, and both topped out at about 120 mph.

Although a conventional front-engine rear-wheel-drive car, the RX-7's powerplant made it thoroughly unconventional. The twin-rotor 12A rotary engine was built under license to NSU Wankel (by then a Volkswagen subsidiary), and it was massaged to make 100 hp. Unlike NSU, Mazda had been able to actually make the rotary work, largely solving the tip seal problems that sank the NSU Ro80 (and the company along with it).

First-gen RX-7s are a blast to drive and sound much like a chainsaw on steroids. They are rev-happy enough that Mazda saw fit to install a rev-limiter that buzzed when the car reached its 7,000-rpm redline.

Handling was quite good, although the chassis was fairly conventional-unit structure with MacPherson struts up front and a live rear axle with coil springs and a Watt's linkage not unlike some Alfas. All this made handling benign enough, but at the limit, early cars could be a handful, displaying exuberant oversteer.

Interiors were nothing special, like most Japanese cars of the day, with waxy hard plastic and cloth or vinyl seats being the rule. At least the RX-7 had full instrumentation, with a big centrally located tach on the earliest cars.

Probably the biggest liability the earliest cars suffer from is appalling fuel economy. Pre-1981 12A rotary cars rarely saw the high side of 20 mpg on the highway, and driven hard around town they often saw single digits. Cars built after 1981 were rated at 21 mpg city and 30 mpg on the highway, but most RX-7 owners laugh at these figures.

The one to have is the injected GSL-SE



The first-gen RX-7 to have is the fuel-injected 13B rotary-powered GSL-SE of 1984-85. A 35-hp boost over the 12A engine made this RX-7 competitive with the new Porsche 944. The GSL-SE also came with all of the interior refinements available, including very effective a/c; the Japanese were the only foreign manufacturers who came close to the Americans in that department. Both 4- and 5-speed manuals were available. Each was quite stout, though the second-gear synchro will only withstand limited abuse, and rotaries provide little engine braking, leading to panic downshifts by novices.

A limited number of first-gen RX-7 convertibles were converted in California by a company called Avatar. None has surfaced at auction recently and the conversion quality is a bit of an unknown, but the car looks great as a convertible. It makes one wonder why it wasn't in the original plans.

As collector cars today, RX-7s are a tough sell; they're not really old enough to be especially collectible and the rotary engine scares people off. It isn't as though they are particularly troublesome (150,000 miles isn't unreasonable, double that is possible on synthetic oil), but the knowledge base for rotary repairs is dwindling. Smoking cars with bad rotor tip or apex seals should be avoided like the plague, as should any example with any indication of a less-than-healthy motor.

Although a bit less rust-prone than earlier Japanese cars, RX-7s can and do rust. Those with sunroofs should be checked extra carefully, as they can leak over time, with predictable floorboard consequences.

There are few RX-7s around that have been restored in the traditional sense. The values simply don't support it. However, good original cars with under 100,000 miles do surface occasionally. Good cars tend to live in the $3,500 to $5,000 territory.

First-gen RX-7s are among the last worthwhile credit card cars out there. There's no rush, because this status is unlikely to change any time soon, as the first tier of Japanese collectibles consists of just one car (the Toyota 2000GT), and aside from the 240Z, a second tier of Japanese collector cars has yet to emerge.

If gas prices continue to rise, the least affordable aspect of any RX-7 is likely to be its fuel bill.

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