FORBIDDEN FRUIT
It’s 40 years since Mazda launched the RX-7. Is it still as otherworldly as its reputation suggests?
Seeing an RX-7 is a bit like seeing a young and stunningly attractive member of the opposite sex. You can’t help but dream about them, turn your head as they go past and imagine what life with them would be like. But then, don’t rotary-engined Mazdas drink like a fish, suffer breakdown after breakdown and expect you to pay handsomely for everything? Surely that half-an hour at the weekend isn’t worth all the trouble?
Incredibly, it’s 40 years since Mazda first dangled this apple of Eden in front of the motoring world, but it certainly doesn’t look like it. Mazda’s decision to keep the car’s appearance uncluttered, rather than adopt the mock-American styling most of its Seventies Japanese contemporaries featured, give it an undeniable timelessness. There’s a fair amount of Porsche 924 in the Mazda’s shape, too, but the RX-7 appears much lither in the metal and that low bonnet hints at the rotary gem under the bonnet.
Few engine configurations are better regarded by petrolhead wisdom than the rotary – perhaps only the V8 and V12 rank above it – and the RX-7’s unit shows off all the reasons why these engines are so revered.
It’s whisper-quiet at start-up and there’s virtually no vibration in the cabin. The clutch is light and progressive, and the gearshift is slick; there’s little noise or vibration as you set off. In fact, the massive viscous fan in the engine bay is by far the nosiest thing in this car – an electric fan might be an improvement.
It’s easy to lose track of the revs, but a quick look at the centre-mounted tachometer shows just how quickly revs build in this engine. Free of reciprocating mass, the two rotors speed up with addictive ease. And that’s a good thing, because the engine feels resolutely ordinary below 3500rpm; you need to keep it spinning to make progress – hence, presumably, why the first two gears are so low-geared.
The RX-7’s engine might be the stuff of legend, then, but few people talk about its interior. And that’s a shame because the build quality is truly impressive; the dashboard switches are so satisfyingly crisp and solid in feel that you end up flicking them back and forth at traffic lights just to entertain yourself. The indicator and wiper stalks deserve mention for being almost identical to those used by Rover Group some 20 years later – but these feel better, if anything. It’s surprisingly spacious, too, and this example also features one of the few brown dashboards that didn’t look dated the second 1979 ended.
It becomes apparent that the RX-7 has two quite different characters once you’re comfortable out on the open road. Keep the revs below 4000rpm and it’s a refined GT coupé. The ride is good, the seats comfortable, the ventilation pleasing and the engine quiet, if unexceptional. You can see why Mazda thought that the rotary engine was as suited for use in executive saloons as it was in the RX-7. It should return about 30mpg like this, too – not quite the drinking problem some pub cynics might lead you to expect.
Up the revs via the lovely five-speed gearbox, however, and it adopts a much more sporting character. Its inherent smoothness means that it never becomes truly raucous or visceral, but there’s a feeling of great balance, poise and power as you hold the high revs, slaloming through bends. This experience can quickly be broken by a tight corner if you’re not careful with ratio selection, but the Mazda is in its element on gently winding roads, where the lack of body roll means you can effortlessly shift the car’s weight around.
If there’s one disappointment in this department, it’s the steering, in which Mazda sacrificed a degree of feedback with its recirculating ball setup in the name of reduced kickback over bumps.
Is it special enough to justify all the trouble, then? It’s not as transcendental as some would have you believe – in the best way possible. Stop obsessing over the fact that the car is powered by a rotary engine – the car doesn’t shout about it anyway – and simply enjoy the fact that it is a well-engineered – and therefore reliable – sports coupé with an unusually smooth and revvy power delivery.
Because the truth is: that’s all Mazda ever wanted it to be.