The third and last generation of the RX-7, known as the FD, 2-door sports coupe was manufactured in three Series, 6, 7 and 8, and was based on a 2.6L Wankel rotary engine positioned behind the front axle. A total of three outputs were available, 236 HP, 255 HP and 276 HP, all of them joined by a manual, 5-speed transmission as standard. Optionally, a 4-speed automatic transmission could also be fitted. Braking efficiency and fading resistance were improved thanks to the all round ventilated discs. The FD RX-7 was declared Playboy’s Car of the Year in 1993 and numerous publications rated it as one of best sports cars.

Nicknamed “The Japanese Porsche 924”, the second generation of the RX7 came on the market in 1987 and received constant upgrades until the car’s retirement in 1995.
Mazda had a long reputation and experience with rotary engines and decided to use it on the second generation of the RX7. It was a similar engine as its predecessor but upgraded with new technologies, which made it more powerful. While the earlier RX7s featured naturally-aspirated units, the later ones were available with a turbocharger, which opened the doors for more ponies, and all were running.

When Akio Uchiyama designed the car, he allegedly was inspired by the Porsche 924. On the other hand, the aerodynamic played its crucial role in the car’s shapes, including the pop-up headlights at the front. Uchiyama installed a set of parking lights and the turn signals in the front, wrapped-around plastic bumpers. The flat and short hood has slightly risen before the raked A-pillars. A short roof and a Camaro-Esque rear windscreen completed the greenhouse. In the back, Mazda played it safe with rectangular taillights, flush to the bodywork.

Inside, the carmaker installed two bucket seats at the front and a bench in the rear wide enough for a few letters. The dashboard sported straight lines on it, with a glove-box in front of the passenger and a vertical center stack. Mazda designed an instrument panel wide enough to host two big dials and four gauges.

The RX7 was a sporty coupe for enthusiast drivers. Apart from the rev-happy engine, Mazda installed a complicated rear suspension system built to counter-act the toe-in and toe-out situations during high-speed cornering maneuvers. The twin-rotor Wankel engine sent its power to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

Mazda opened a new chapter in its history when it introduced the first generation of the RX-7 in 1978.
While it was not the first car fitted with a Wankel rotary engine, it was the first car Mazda produced to stir the international sports car market. It was unusual in every way, and the carmaker sold it in high numbers.

Matsaburo Maeda designed the car as a lightweight sport-coupe. He placed the engine behind the front axle, and thus it helped with the weight distribution. Since the engineers pushed the engine back, the front was very narrow and, thanks to its pop-up headlights, very aerodynamic as well. The raked windshield and the short roof were followed by a long and sloped rear window, which was also the trunk lid.

Inside, the carmaker managed to offer four seats, but those in the rear were too small actually to allow someone bigger than a puddle to sit there. At the front, the dashboard was rounded, with circular vents on the outer side and rectangular in the middle. The instrument panel featured a tachometer marked up to 8,000 rpm, with a red-line starting at 7,000 rpm. That was motorcycle territory!

Under the hood, Mazda installed small, 1.2-liter, and 1.5-liter engines with a twin-rotor design. Depending on the engine version, the RX-7 featured a 4- or 5-speed manual. A 3- or 4-speed automatic was offered as an option for the U.S. market.

Mazda started introducing rotary engines since the Japanese regulations less taxed them, and the RX3 was an important step forward in that area.
Mazda offered the RX3 as a replacement for the previous RX2 model. It was available as a coupe, sedan, or station wagon. The Japanese carmaker tried to make the vehicle sporty enough to appeal to the younger generation but comfortable and well equipped for young families.

At the front, it featured dual round headlights and a separate grille between them as the original 1964 ½ Mustang. Even if it was way shorter than the famous pony-car, the RX3 featured a sloped rear window, making the car look even smaller. In the rear, the Japanese designers installed another pair of dual taillights, like some other European carmakers.

Inside, Mazda installed vinyl-covered seats with embossed “pleats” and emblems, but with good finishes. The instrumentation was complete with two main dials in the instrument cluster, and four additional gauges mounted high on the center stack. The Japanese designers placed the radio above the HVAC system, which was a much logical solution. Mazda installed a badge in the middle of the three-spoke steering wheel with the rounded triangular shape of a Wankel rotary engine piston.

The 1.2-liter Wankel engine was designed, so the owner paid smaller taxes, and it offered 90 hp. It was an unusually high specific output. Yet, the fuel-efficiency was worse than most of the similar cars on the market. Its live rear axle with leaf springs was unsuitable for a sporty coupe, but at least it featured power brakes with discs at the front and drums in the rear.

The Mazda RX-2 was launched in 1970 and was sold between 1971 and 1974 in the US, when Mazda ceased production.
However, it lived on in other parts of the worlds.

The small car built by Mazda was sold under many names. It was also known as the 616 and 618 in the US, and the model featured a piston engine.

Assembled in New Zealand, it was the first passenger car that offered a rotary engine and the RX-2 was actually an option package for the Capella.

The RX-2 came with two body styles, a 2-door and a 4-door variant.

The 1971 version could be easily recognised by the indents in the front bumper for the blinkers, hood air vents, interior door cards, the antenna placed on the rear, the coupe badge on the rear trunk lid and shortened bumpers.

The RX-2 features air conditioning, power antenna and radio. In the front, the RX-2 had discs brakes and in the rear it was equipped with drums.

The model was a rear-wheel-drive with the power transmitted through a 4-speed manual gearbox for the coupe or a 3-speed automatic for the sedan.

The Mazda RX-2 was a tremendous success due to its high power combined with performance. The rotary engine produced 130 hp and 158 Nm. It was a 2.3-liter powerplant.