Mazda RX-7 1983 News

The first series Mazda RX-7 was a milestone car for both Mazda and the general car buying public. Launched in 1978 it was a key car in changing the public’s perception of Japanese car manufacturers from builders of cheap bargain boxes to builders of quality affordable and accessible performance cars for the everyman. For Mazda it basically saved them. Before the RX-7, Mazda were having a difficult time in the American market as their whole strategy was tied to the Wankel rotary engine _ which had built a reputation for a poor fuel economy to power ratio. Fuel economy was coming to the fore as a priority for the buying public. The early 70s was a time of OPEC-introduced fuel shortages and the start of stringent emission controls. Mazda required a breakthrough car, and with the RX-7 they got it 100 per cent right. It was a significant hit in both the American and Australian markets. Leading motoring journalists were unanimous in their praise for the revolutionary sportscar. The RX-7 won numerous awards and was named by Road and Track magazine in their 10 Best Cars for a Changed World and 10 Best Cars of the 80s lists. It also made Car and Driver’s list of Top 10 cars five times. RX-7 development commenced in 1975 at the instruction of Mazda board member Sinpei Hanoka. The brief was for a small lightweight two-seater sportscar with a chassis specifically designed around the compact Wankel engine. This project would be Mazda’s third attempt at a halo sportscar. The first was the Cosmo, was a limited production hand built classic. The second was a failed attempt to build a two-seater from a shared sedan chassis, a project that was abandoned in 1973.In March 1978 the production RX-7 was introduced to the international motoring press at Hiroshama, Japan. It was a hit and press coverage was full of praise for Mazda. The advance press and excellent coverage in Australian magazines converted into sales for Mazda here. Australian, along with America, seemed to like everything about the car. Curiously, it was not as successful in England or the rest of Europe. Drivers loved its road manners and performance. Handling was universally praised and few significant problems were ever reported. In September 1982, Road and Track surveyed 200 owners and their summation was “when it comes to performance, handling and reliability, the RX7 offers more fun per dollar than any other sportscar”. The same holds true today, with current market prices between $5,000-15, 000. The RX-7 also had a very successful race career here with Allan Moffat.  In 1982 he won the Lakeside and Surfers Paradise rounds of the Australian Endurance Championship. In 1983 he won the Calder Park, Wanneroo, Surfers and Oran Park to take the Championship. He also won the Sandown 500 race and got two thirds and a second in the Bathurst 1000 between 1982 and 1984.Mazda RX-7 1st Generation Built: 1979 to 1985No. Built: 471,018Series 1 – 1979-80 Series 2 – 1981-83Series 3 – 1984-85Engine: 12a - 1.1L, 2 rotor 109 kW naturally aspirated Transmission(s): 4-speed automatic, 5-speed manualDimensionsWheelbase: 2420 mmLength: 4285 mmWidth: 1689 mmHeight: 1260 mmCurb weight: 1,191 kg - 1,393 kgFuel consumption (city) - 13 km/litreFuel consumption (highway) - 8 km/litre

Now reality television will enter the world of car lovers, with a new series that goes in search of Australia's best car and driver. Blood, Sweat & Gears is a new show which will debut on FOX8 next month, with seven finalists competing for the title of the best driver and the best car, not to mention the bragging rights that come with it. Advanced driver training instructor Ian Luff is a judge on the reality show, which he describes as a motoring version of Survivor, even featuring a car council and a whole series of challenges. “It's a show about people and their cars in a competitive environment where everyone wants to win, but naturally, there's only going to be one winner,” Luff says. The seven finalists, who come from all over Australia, previously had their cars featured in car magazines and were selected by people in the industry to take part in the series. And there is a diverse range of machinery on show, from Japanese imports, a Nissan 200SX and a 800hp Mazda RX7, to classic American and Australian muscle cars, such as a 540-cubic-inch Chevy Corvette, an original VL Brock Commodore, an LJ Torana and a classic Ford GT. And you can't have a competition about the best and fastest cars without a Ferrari. “The cars were supposed to be the stars, but you have to remember people drive cars, they own these cars, the people and personalities tend to overshadow the cars,” Luff says. “These cars are their passion, they built them, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on them and you're dealing with male egos here.” And it seems putting seven rev-heads together with their prized possessions is a recipe for disaster generating some fairly heated moments making for, of course, some great TV. “It was all about egos, big boys and big toys,” Luff says of the contestants, who were put through a series of tests, from navigating their own powerful cars through slalom courses, accelerating and suddenly braking on skid pans, to testing the engine on a dyno or on the quarter mile at an air strip. On one challenge, Luff jumped into a Hyundai i30 and set a time he expected the seven competitors to beat. Not surprisingly, Luff says most were a little too confident and eager. Six of the seven drivers spun out. Ferrari owner Mohamed Ibrahim, in particular, was not happy as his “very powerful” car began to lose control around the bend, and went into safety mode, turning itself off. The Mazda RX7, a car Luff calls a “stealth bomber” was the only car to make it through successfully, beating Luff's time by two-tenths of a second. “When you see enthusiasm exceed ability it's just the most amazing thing, where testosterone and ability don't work together,” he laughs. And it wasn't just the car against car, with all seven drivers having a turn in the i30 for one challenge, to see who could do the best. It then came time to jump into an old Ford Fairlane, which lacks the benefit of modern technology. Ibrahim says although car fanatics can get competitive both behind the wheel and when talking of their cars, the program was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “It was excellent, the best week of my life,” he says. “We were working with a team we never met before and at the end of the series you miss them. Straight away we became like best friends in a matter of a couple of days.” Having rebuilt more than 500 cars in the past six years at his smash-repair business in Condell Park, Ibrahim has the credentials. In four days, he got his 2003 350 Modena ready for the show. Having spent $350,000 on the car, including enhancements such as 22-inch wheels, a twin turbo, a paint job and red leather interior, Ibrahim was ready to show Australia he and his 5.6-litre V8 car really are the best in the country. “I know pretty much everything to do with cars,” Ibrahim says. “My one is definitely the best, there were a lot of old cars but I like the later models.” Ibrahim says he loved taking part, but didn't learn anything new from Luff. “I reckon I could give him a lesson,” he jokes.  

AS ONE-FIFTH of the upbeat phenomenon Hi-5, Nathan Foley is known around the world. He has sung and danced his way to worldwide acclaim with the multiple Logie and ARIA Award-winning group and children's show. The 28-year-old has been part of the successful Nine Network show, which is aired in 83 countries worldwide, for eight years. And, along with the other four members of Hi-5, he has become a cult star for under-10s. Foley, who has recently written and produced his solo album, Discovery, loves V8 engines, riding motorcycles and karting.What was your first car?I bought a 1983 Mazda RX-7 when I was 16. I started performing when I was 10, so I saved to buy a car when I got my Ls. I bought it secondhand and I still have it. It's bronze-over-brown - sounds disgusting, but it's really funky. I'm trying to sell it.What do you drive now?My main car is a 2003 Ford Explorer. I also have a 2003 Triumph motorcycle, and I've just sold a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang. In 1998 I won a Proton Satria in a singing competition and traded it in for the Mustang. I sold it because I want to renovate my house.Do you have a favourite drive, and who would you take along?I love driving down the south coast of NSW to Coolangatta with my girlfriend Melissa (not Coolangatta in Queensland). It's about a two-hour drive from Sydney.How far would you drive in an average year?Oh boy. We tour a lot and I drive both and in New Zealand. I live on the NSW central coast so I do a lot of driving back and forth to Sydney. I'd average three to four hours a day. What's that over a year? A lot of kilometres.Do you have a favourite motoring memory?I used to visit my dad on weekends at his farm in the central coast area. He bought me a $200 paddock-basher - I think it was a Corona. It was a five-speed manual, so I learned to drive a manual at a young age. I was 10 years old and had my own Dukes of Hazzard course. My mates would come over and we'd go around the paddock-bashing course.What would you buy if money were no object?I'm not a huge fan of new cars - they all look the same to me. But if I had millions of dollars to spend I would buy 50 to 100 classic cars. Get all the muscle cars from the late 1960s and early '70s.What music is playing in your car?I'm a huge Stevie Wonder fan but at the moment I'm really getting into Ben Harper -- Both Sides of the Gun. I always travel with my iPod. I have this huge transmitter that's really strong, so if I'm travelling in convoy with friends in three cars they can all pick up the frequency.How much is too much for a new car?I think car prices are going up ridiculously, especially if it's just to get you from A to B. The only way I would buy an expensive car is if it would hold its value like an investment. That's why I got the Mustang. If you spend $80,000 to $100,000 on a new car - which I haven't, that's way too much money -- in a few years they're down to $40,000. I think $450,000 is too much to pay for a car. If big businessmen have the cash to do it, then do it, but I think it's ridiculous.What should be done to make driving safer?People need to be more aware on the road. I find when I'm on my bike, people just don't look where they're driving. They don't indicate. I think everyone should do a road-rules test and be taken on a course once a year. If they're not up to scratch they should lose their licence. I really believe that. My pet peeve is people going slow in the right-hand lane on the freeway. It bugs the crap out of me.Are you sponsored by a car company?No, but I'm looking.

The re-birth of one of Mazda's popular sports cars, the legendary RX-7, might be just over the horizon. There has been speculation about the revival of the rear-wheel-drive, rotary coupe that ended li