Spieder

....No son. That's one of them Mazda's.

I get that all too often.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I think all of us have gotton that comment. To a non car person a FB does kinda look like a 924/944. On several occations people have asked me about my "corvette", ok, i can see the porsche, but a vette? thats going just a bit too far.

Spieder

Here's a cool bit of history. Check out this site.

http://www.iaat-online.com/SeptemberHistory.html

Out of curiousity,

How many people here know that the 2nd gen is not an RX-7? It was designed to be a different name, but they made it a 7 at the last minute because of the RX-7's popluar name. It's last year they only sold 4800 of those things in the US.

How many people know that the 1st gen and 3rd gen were designed by the same head engineer?

Manntis

the same BRILLIANT engineer. My only beef with the FD is the overstressed engine.

peejay

Whan an insult! "Is that a Porsche".... Glad I never get that, I'd go to jail for kicking ***

Spieder

I don't care what kind of engine it is. I shudder at the sound of turbo. Not to mention twin turbo. I don't remember him actually doing engine design. He was the body/balance/handling/weight distribution guy. I believe the primary design of the 3rd gen took place at Mazda Japan ( Body styling), Austalian Mazda (Engine) and Mazda USA (suspension). It was one of the first vehicles designed by such a large contribution of facilities.

rx7passion

i remember rolling with felix wankel and some dork at subway asked if his car was a corvette, i said yeah the one with a big motor in it

Felix Wankel

Yes massa

Spieder

I still wann get some decals for the sides of my car that read:

SHO 1.1 Litre

PaulFitzwarryne

The name RX-7 was always intended to be kept on for te Gen 2 by Senior Management of Mazda. One engineering executive did suggest RX-8 then RX-9 with the MX-03 being the RX-8. However it was not supported. One reason was they were afraid of a drop off in sales of the gen 1 if it was announced as a new car rather than a product improvement.

I am not sure about who are are refering to as the Chief Engineer for both the Gen 1 and Gen 2.

Sumio Mochizuki was the Chief of Engineering for Gen 2,
Akio Uchiyama for Gen 2 with Takao Kijima for Gen 3. Several engineers had long links with the development of the RX-7 with Takaharu Kobayakawa becoming head of the RX-7 project time after the gen 2 was produced having earlier been a middle rank manager in the original RE department working on engine designs particularily towards the success of the 8 and 10.

The RX-7 was targeted towards the 924 and 944 markets so went down the that track rather than the UK style of sports car. With the introduction of the Miata, Mazda realized the FD RX-7 had to break away from the cheaper version of Porsche look.

I agree with with Mantis about the REW engine but there were two practical constraints, the Japanese Government limitation on speed meant there was no real need for higher hp, and limited finances for new engine development with the Miaa becoming the profit maker. The concept of the 20 was really a cheap option.

The Gen 1 and Gen 2 are Porsche look alikes, there advantage was half the price, a rotary engine, and a better class of owner.

MIKE-P-28

iTrader: (1)

When I had that whale tail on my 80. Girls used to ask me that all the time, Id just smile and say get in LOL

treceb

i got that "is that a porsche..." once, i was in my Ghia, though. never on the seven. I do live in an area where theres lots of rx7s.

Spieder

That was him. Koby is his nick name. He is considered to be the father of the RX-7. The second gen was not originally going to be called an RX-7, according to the book I used to have called the history of the RX-7. It was marketing that decided to use the name. There are no design similarities between the 2nd and 3rd gen. The 2nd gen was designed from scratch to be a different car. The 3rd gen was more true to the RX-7 style. The 2nd gen made use of computer controlled suspension and coaxing to get it to perform. The 3rd gen went the way fo the 1st gen, classic suspension but tuned to perfection (for it's day). The 3rd gen dropped all the computer controlled crap and went for handling as a result of balance and design.

Felix Wankel

There is no computer control on an FC suspension, save for the GXL's adjustable struts. And they suck.

Spieder

That is what I am referring to, was the suspension dampening like on my '92 MX-6. However, when I referred to "computer controlled crap" I was leaning towards the other (nameless) sports cars that rely on that. Mazda typically approaches cars through the philosophy of better design. Like the Miata for example. They take classic ideas and improve them. Their TTS twin trapezoidial suspension) is another example.

V8kilr

what do i say when someone asks about my nissan supra?

PaulFitzwarryne

With respect for Koby, he was not on the senior team which developed the RX-7 under Project X605 title. It was headed by Kohei Matsuda, with Moriyuki Watanabe[design] and Sumio Mochizuki[engineering].

Some ten years later he did become head of the team half way through the gen 2 project cycle. Koby had sme great ideas and wanted to take the RX-7 back to its lightweight SA format, but was overruled by senior management who instead went for the luxury tourer approach. The later R1 and R2 versions were more in line with his philosophy. Sad, if he had won over the corporate image gurus, the FD would have been a 2500 lb car with 280hp,or 360hp if the 20B could be fitted - everthing people are now trying to achieve with a transplanted Cosmo engine 13B or 20B in a FB. body

Jaye

It was no accident that the 2nd Gen Rex looked like a 944.

Mr. ImportGuy

First day I got mine somone asked me if it was a Z car. I was like wtf lol.

Manntis

Nissan Supra *snicker*

MikeLMR

The best (worst?) comment I've had was " that one of them old RX7's without a rotary engine "

82transam

iTrader: (18)

i like it when people ask me if mine has the optional 4 cyl engine. OK people, say it with me now,"the R stands for rotary..." ******* idiots. haha

ioTus

iTrader: (5)

One thing that bugs me is when people at CAR SHOPS say "Ok so that is the 4 cylander version right?"

"No, its a two rotor 1.1 litre".

*Laugh* "No cars run on two cylanders"

"Of course not, many run on two rotors tho"

"But how big is the engine tho, 4 or 6 or 8 cylanders?"

"1.1 litre two rotor, 12a."

*process goes to manager*

"So you have the 4 cylander right?"

GAHHH!!!!

at that point i just give up. And stopped going to cheap *** car parts stores (napa the hick store).

Another thing that bugs me is how my friend thinks a rotary is so incredibly weak that it would never be able to get a ten sec 1/4, because its only a 2 cylander. Every time i say "No its a two rotor" and he says "Its pretty much the same thing".

Coures this guy drives a neon and insists that it is really frickin fast. He just will not listen to me. He doesnt like RX7's at all. He has poor taste

Geoff

MarkPerez

The 2ed gen was called " p747 " I've had people ask
me what kind of car is that .

PaulFitzwarryne

It could have been far worse! What would have happened if the 747 project team had selected design F [Supra] rather than design E[Porsche}.

Is it a Supra Daddy?