Mazda RX-7 Sporty Japanese Car

The Mazda RX-7 was a sports car that Mazda produced between the years of 1978 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 first RX-7 only had a 1150 cc engine. The rotary engine featured twin rotors and the vehicle was a rear wheel drive car. The rotary engine had been developed in Germany many years earlier, but Mazda is one of the few auto manufacturers to successfully use the technology in a widely produced vehicle. One drawback of the engine is that it uses more fuel than the piston engine. This cause several problems for Mazda in the 70s oil crisis.

Rotary engines are light weight in their construction. This gave the RX-7 a feeling of more power with a smaller engine. The engines also run smoother that a comparable piston engine.

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 1984, fuel use was improved to 29 mpg highway and 19 mpg city. For the RX-8, fuel economy matches other vehicles of the same class and weight.

Mazda sold the RX-7 as a sports coupe. The RX-7 had a mid mounted engine and offered great stability. In America for a while there was an option of dealer installed rear seats, however in Japan there was the option of purchasing the vehicle with rear seats already installed.

The second generation of the RX-7 was introduced between 1986 and 1989. The styling copied the popular Porsche. In addition, the RX-7 convertible came on the market in 1988. The convertible continued to be produced until 1992. It was rated as one of the best convertibles that were ever produced.

In 1992 the third generation RX-7 was introduced and the sales of the RX-7 stopped during 1995 when only a limited number of the Mazda RX-7s were shipped to the United States dealers for sale. Sales of the vehicle continued in other parts of the world until 2002.

The Mazda RX-8 eventually replaced the RX-7 world wide. It was first introduced into the United States in 2001 at an auto show, but sales did not begin until 2004. The RX-8 continues Mazda's tradition of the rotary engine, however it offers seating in the vehicle for four as standard.