Mazda RX-7
Until the first Mazda RX-7 was 
introduced in 1979, the rotary engine (also known as the Wankel, in homage to a leading light in its design, Felix Wankel) was something of a novelty act.
Amazingly small and smooth for the amount of power it created, the rotary had obvious potential as a punchy performance engine in a small car, to the point that major automakers such as GM and AMC were betting big on the technology. However, concerns about oil consumption, high temperatures, long-term durability, and relatively poor fuel economy put those projects on permanent hiatus.
Following the demise of NSU's rotary program, Mazda became the foremost proponent of the technology. Even Mazda, however, struggled to find the right showcase for the rotary. The rotary made small cars such as the RX-3 and RX-4 admirable performers in their respective classes, but outside of the powertrain the cars themselves were unremarkable.
That all changed in 1979, when, in the RX-7, the rotary finally met its match.
The RX-7's light, aerodynamic sports car body was designed to take advantage of the rotary's tiny packaging and relatively large power output, and the chassis gave the RX-7 the roadholding to match its power.
Like the Datsun 240Z a decade before, the RX-7 revolutionized the sports car market. With performance easily on a par with the Porsche 924 and close to that of the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette, but at a vastly lower price, the RX-7 became a legend. It was an immediate smash sales success, became the first sports car for a generation of young drivers, and quickly established itself as a force on the race track.
Like most of the performance cars of its time, the original RX-7 wouldn't be able to keep pace with today's high-horsepower V-6 family sedans. But even so, its design looks clean, uncluttered, and purposeful even today.
Later generations of the RX-7 would introduce turbocharging and twin-turbocharging to the rotary, and the performance continued to soar. In 1991 a rotary-powered RX-7 sports prototype won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The last-generation RX-7 (a future Car Lust) was a veritable supercar and the most extreme street use of the rotary to this day--it was a low-slung sports car of such singular purpose and execution that it both thrilled and drove away mainstream customers. Today's RX-8, with vestigial rear doors, is a sales success in its own right and nearly as pure in concept.
The 1979 RX-7 kicked off Mazda's most famous line of cars, but it might be even more significant for staking out the rotary's place in the automotive world. No longer unrealized potential and much-hyped vaporware, the RX-7 represented the rotary's first major triumph.
Mochi Mochi on January 18, 2008 at 08:06 PM
(Wow new comment format and landing page for Car Lust! - nice header but where's the little toy car? :)
The RX-7 was a sweet little car. I had two friends with RX7s and I was for a time a half owner of an 81. One of my more dangerous friends used to love the fact that his RX7 engine could be severely over-rev'd with no immediately negative effect. He particularly liked the singing sound that came from revving so high. I always wondered where the sound came from. I assume it was either some oddity in flow pattern either in the intake or exhaust - or massive seal wear. The RX7 was plenty fast and handled well. But it was not especially tight of frame. The great thing about the engine was how incredibly small it was - this left huge room around it in the engine compartment and contributed to the low weight and great balance of the car.
In college I had a final design project for a CAD modeling class. I chose to create a program that would design a wankle rotary engine, then automate the geometric construction based on displacement... and finally animate the action of rotation. The geometry was particularly challenging to model until I found equations for Cardioids. It blew me away that there could be a single equation that could perfectly define the interior geometry of the wankle.
I really liked the RX7 but I do have to say it never made me love it the way I loved other cars (like my 72 Squareback or my civic si). I think there was always something a little too perfect about the RX7 - not enough quirks to really endear it to me.
If anyone cares about cardioids here's some further reading:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Cardioid.html
rev on January 19, 2008 at 08:51 AM
Actually, the Mazda Cosmo was ahead of the RX-7 with its rotary engine. I bought one in 1976 and loved it. It was a 2-door coupe and was a little pocket rocket. The seals went bad on the rotary engine in 1980 after around 75,000 miles and it wouldn't start when it was cold....had to be pushed (good thing I lived on a hill!). It was really a cut above others in its class (Toyota Corolla, Mustang) in both performance and features. Too bad the rotary wasn't perfected........
rev on January 19, 2008 at 08:53 AM
Actually, the Mazda Cosmo was ahead of the RX-7 with its rotary engine. I bought one in 1976 and loved it. It was a 2-door coupe and was a little pocket rocket. The seals went bad on the rotary engine in 1980 after around 75,000 miles and it wouldn't start when it was cold....had to be pushed (good thing I lived on a hill!). It was really a cut above others in its class (Toyota Corolla, Mustang) in both performance and features. Too bad the rotary wasn't perfected........
MEC2 on January 19, 2008 at 09:09 AM
Let's not get too giggly over the RX-7 - and I owned a G2 Turbo. Car was notoriously unreliable, apex seals are two words any rotary owner knows too well. Of all the sports cars I have owned, the RX-7 captured my heart the least. Don't know why, maybe it was the generic smooth torque of the rotary, perhaps it was the inevitable failure of the climate control systems, or the questionable paint work from the factory. Hard to love a car that can stay in working order...
Fat Man on January 19, 2008 at 09:31 AM
NSU Ro-80, a gorgeous car -- it fore-shadowed the Audi 5000 and the design trends of the next 2 decades.
NSU by Jack Bruce on Fresh Cream by Cream
Driving in my car, smoking my cigar,
The only time I'm happy's when I play my guitar.
(Chorus)
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
Singing in my yacht, what a lot I got,
Happiness is something that just cannot be bought.
Chorus
I've been in and I'm out, I've been up and down,
I don't want to go until I've been all around.
Chorus
What's it all about, anyone in doubt,
I don't want to go until I've found it all out.**
Chorus
Mochi Mochi on January 19, 2008 at 12:06 PM
Fat Man wrote "NSU Ro-80..."
Great call on the Ro-80, Fat Man. I had never heard of the Ro-80. Aside from the seal problems it sounds like and amazing car with brake design that is sophisticated even by todays standards - and man! what a looker!! nice lines.
And yes reliability of the RX7 (three failed starters and host of other small failures combined with a cheap interior) did not endear the car to me. But that engine was smooth. And the car was a classic of auto design with a real technological twist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSU_Ro_80
..
Sarge on January 19, 2008 at 02:41 PM
I stiil have my beloved 1980 12A (Califorina) RX-7 in the garage. I finished restoring it about three years ago, having driven it as my daily driver, from it's $1700 purchase (with 70k on it) in 1990, until 2001, when I decided to hobby it.
275,000 miles I can document, and in pristine shape (freshly handbuilt engine and self-done custom interior) with the exception of one failed smog component(headpipe), but I can't drive it anymore because Gov Ahnald fronted revised Cali smog rules a few years ago requiring perpetual smog testing for anything newer than 1976.
Mazda hasn't made the part for 10 years, and it was unique to the '80 Cali build. I've been searching in vain for two years for a useable part (they burn out over time)... Yet legally I must have one or scrap the car, for even if the car passes on emissions without it (it nearly does, in fact) it's not legal to alter the exhaust components... even on a car that never had a Cat.
Alternates between depressing and infuriating.
Johan Amedeus Metesky on January 19, 2008 at 05:01 PM
Chris is correct, the last RX-7 was a supercar for the masses, perhaps the most underappreciated sports car of its day (the twin turbo Nissan 300ZX also deserves props). I asked Tom Matano, who drew the last RX-7 when he headed Mazda design, how it felt to be the most successful sports car designer in history, since there have been more Miatas sold than any other sports car, and he said that he was actually more proud of the last RX-7, that the Miata was based on the Lotus Elan whereas the last RX-7 was a "clean sheet of paper".
Heather on January 19, 2008 at 07:15 PM
I had an '85 Rx-7 and I loved it and it loved me. I had no problems with paint or the cheap interior and it was in the shop less often than any vehicle I have owned since. It was fun to drive and relatively easy on gas and I could cram an unimaginable amount of stuff in the hatch. I wish I had known how spoiled I was. Every once in a while, when I have a curvy little road ahead and the van isn't too overloaded... I remember and my passengers are nervous.
Heather on January 19, 2008 at 07:17 PM
I had an '85 Rx-7 and I loved it and it loved me. I had no problems with paint or the cheap interior and it was in the shop less often than any vehicle I have owned since. It was fun to drive and relatively easy on gas and I could cram an unimaginable amount of stuff in the hatch. I wish I had known how spoiled I was. Every once in a while, when I have a curvy little road ahead and the van isn't too overloaded... I remember and my passengers are nervous.
Limone on January 20, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Many of the RX7s were lemons, and you can read a great story about an owner who fought hard, and successfully, to get his $44,000 back from Mazda of America:
http://www.fd3s.net/lemon_site/troubles.htm
Chris Hafner on January 23, 2008 at 03:07 PM
Mochi Mochi: "(Wow new comment format and landing page for Car Lust! - nice header but where's the little toy car? :)"
Me: Thanks! Yeah, I'll have to work in the toy car somewhere. I'm not sure where - but it might just surface sometime in the future.
Mochi Mochi: "The RX-7 was a sweet little car. I had two friends with RX7s and I was for a time a half owner of an 81."
Me: Half owner, eh? I'd be interested in hearing how that worked.
Mochi Mochi: "The great thing about the engine was how incredibly small it was - this left huge room around it in the engine compartment and contributed to the low weight and great balance of the car."
Me: That's one of the things I love about the RX-7. The car itself is small - and then look at that hoodline! Rotaries are so tiny that rotary-powered cars lend themselves to some truly miraculous packaging.
Chris Hafner on January 23, 2008 at 03:09 PM
rev: "Actually, the Mazda Cosmo was ahead of the RX-7 with its rotary engine."
Yep. The Cosmo is beautiful and has aged well--it just wasn't made in enough numbers to be anywhere near as influential as the RX-7.
Chris Hafner on January 23, 2008 at 03:14 PM
MEC2: "Car was notoriously unreliable, apex seals are two words any rotary owner knows too well. Of all the sports cars I have owned, the RX-7 captured my heart the least."
I think it's really funny that the RX-7 never quite captured Mochi Mochi because it was a little too flawless, and never quite captured you because it was a little too flawed.
Just goes to show how difficult it is to capture Car Lust.
Chris Hafner on January 23, 2008 at 03:16 PM
Fat Man: "NSU Ro-80, a gorgeous car -- it fore-shadowed the Audi 5000 and the design trends of the next 2 decades."
Yes - a beautiful and revolutionary car in its own right, and a long-time favorite. There will be a Ro-80 Car Lust at some point.
juan on May 09, 2008 at 04:41 PM
I need header for 1979 mazda rx7
juan on May 09, 2008 at 04:42 PM
I need header for 1979 mazda rx7
Rx7racer8 on May 09, 2008 at 05:07 PM
This is to (Sarge).. If You can't find the head Piece then you should try a Using A CAT On Your Rx7.. If your planning to sell your car, (Which I hope Your Not) , There r a few states that have no smog Law so yeah..
Angelica on May 24, 2008 at 08:00 AM
I've had my RX7 since 1988, brand new out of the dealership. Prior to that I drove other vehicles, but this one won my heart. I love the smooth ride and the way it hugs turns even today after two decades. I haven't driven a vehicle yet that's as smooth and as powerful as the RX7.
jb on June 08, 2008 at 09:27 AM
I had an '80 RX7. Best chick car I ever owned. Better than the BMW 320i, better than the Spitfire. They always wanted to ride in it or drive it. Car was easy for my 60k miles. Never a problem while I had it. Bought it in '84, sold it in '89 for more than I paid for it. Wish I still had it.
Pilgrim on July 11, 2008 at 06:46 PM
I have had a 1990 RX7 convertible since 1992. It works, rides and drives great. And I still think that this convertible with top down is one of the prettiest cars on the road. I am not a power hog so it has plenty of zip for me. Some parts can be hard to get. It took me a year to find a high beam controller with out which I could not get inspected in MA. Finally found it on Ebay.
Love the car, hope to have it for many more years.
Stevie the K on September 10, 2008 at 07:22 PM
The first car I ever bought new. '79 RX-7 for $7900. Had it for 7 years and loved it.
They were so unusual and visually striking that owners used to flip their headlights up and down with the manual override to 'wink' at each other as we passed!
That year didn't have electronic ignition so had plugs and points every year. In a strong rainstorm it would stall from time to time. Other than that just a joy, every day. Once crammed 5 college kids into it to make a Wendy's run.
Had a semi-manual choke for those cold winter morning starts. Needed it - I was living in Maine.
Sold it in 86 for $4K. Probably should have kept it, in retrospect.
IanOnOahu on January 27, 2009 at 03:40 AM
Bought an '81 back in 1998 for $750. White, with sunroof, and automatic tranny. Had always wanted one, and the car was in very good shape; white, with tan interior.
I noticed right away that mpg was about 13.5mpg, which didn't bother me because I had a gas card from work, and I figured with a tune-up and less lead-footing I could improve the number. After a tune-up and driving as moderately as I could, mpg had improved to a whopping 15mpg!
The car ran great, never a problem with the engine, and the tranny never felt like it was slipping, so I came to a conclusion: 13.5 or 15mpg no matter how I drive? It's time to stick my foot back in it, and drive the RX7 the way it was intended to be driven. So I did, and I had a great time with it. It came close to, and reminded me of all the fun I had back in the early '70's with my '66 Jag XKE.
The company I worked for folded, I lost my gas card, and realized the cost of gas was overriding my fun levels, so I put it in the paper, and sold it for $600 to a cute young Brazilian surfer girl who thought it was very sexy. I was honest and told her it would eat a lot of gas, but she was a sponsored surfer/boogie boarder, and most likely had rich parents (I hoped for her sake).
I met other people who had owned RX7's with manual trannies that said they had gotten mileage numbers in the 20's. If mine had come close to that I would have kept it longer... being in Hawaii makes my decision to buy and keep odd and classic cars a hard one, and, as in the case of the RX7, parts are hard to find or fly in, and finding competent mechanics is a challenge.
Sure do miss the car though...