Mazda · RX-7

Mazda RX-7 3rd generation (FD3S)

Years: 1991–2003
Chassis: FD3S
Drivetrain: FR

Story

The "Savanna" name, used for 20 years, was dropped. After the Eunos Cosmo ended production it became the world's only production car with a rotary engine, and it closed a 25-year history.

Stories

The Zero fighter wreck and "Operation Zero"

Kobayakawa, who became RX-7 chief engineer right after the second generation's introduction, began developing the third generation alongside the ∞ (Infini) version and the cabriolet, and settled with the team on the keywords "shi-rin-en-kō" (aspiration, dignity, allure, elation). Unforgettable was an encounter with the wreck of a Zero fighter; he asked Takao Kijima to lead the effort and took on thorough weight reduction under the watchword "Operation Zero." The project also bought racing karts and a rotary-engine formula car to give members a wide range of experiences, and drew up the image of the sports car to pursue.

Takaharu Kobayakawa

"Operation Zero," learned from the Zero fighter

Put in charge of developing the third-generation RX-7, Kijima picked twenty-some people from body, chassis, interior and electrical departments and formed a task force that crossed departmental walls. Its banner was "Operation Zero," eliminating every bit of wasted weight. The model was the Zero fighter, which pursued lightness and low drag with extra super duralumin and flush rivets. The finished RX-7, at about half the price of the NSX and with a partly aluminum body, slightly beat the all-aluminum NSX's time at Tsukuba.

Takao Kijima

As chief engineer, holding out for 280 hp

Kijima took over as chief engineer of the RX-7 the year after its launch, but the bubble burst and it was decided to end sales in the US. Even while the finance executive who came from Ford questioned almost weekly whether the business could stand on its own, he held out, out of an engineer's pride, for raising output to 280 hp, Japan's upper limit. When the end of production was decided, an unusual ceremony was held at the Ujina plant, and rotary fans gathered from all over the country.

Takao Kijima

Chassis

Front

Double wishbone

Rear

Double wishbone

Width1,760 mmHeight1,230 mm

Wheelbase2,425 mmLength4,280-4,295 mm

Curb weight: 1,230-1,330kg

Production plants

Hiroshima Plant
Fuchu, Aki, Hiroshima

US import eligibility

Earliest cars: Eligible since December 201625 years after sales began in December 1991
Last cars: Eligible from April 202825 years after sales ended in April 2003

Eligibility depends on each car's month of manufacture on its build plate, not on the sale dates shown here (NHTSA).

Japanese cars by US import year →

Engineers

Takaharu Kobayakawauntil 1992

He became program manager for the RX-7 and, in parallel with developing the ∞ (Infini) version and the Cabriolet, began development of the third-generation RX-7. He also served concurrently as motorsport program manager. After the third-generation RX-7 was launched, he worked in public relations and the design division, at Mazda North America and elsewhere, then retired and became a freelance motoring journalist.

Takao Kijimafrom 1992

Hometown: Yoshinogawa, Tokushima Prefecture

A former Mazda engineer. He became program manager for the first-generation Roadster when Toshihiko Hirai left, and afterwards served as program manager for the second- and third-generation Roadster and for the third-generation RX-7. He is a professor in the Faculty of Engineering at Sanyo-Onoda City University.