To all fellow RX-7 and Rotary owners,

I recently had a conversation with my father-in-law about what makes a car a "classic" and just wanted some opinions on what about the RX-7 makes it a classic?

I have an FC3S and he has a 1977 Porsche 924. His is considered because of it being the first affordable Porsche and front-engine, rear-drive Porsche(and the name of course). What about the RX-7??? I need something for a good argument.

Thanks,
Matt

 

Nothing really make the FC3S a classic at this time. They are dime a dozen, and you can pick them up for 500.00 running in good condition, you just have to look.


The only "rare" thing about them is it being the only production sports car with a rotary engine.


There are rare models of the FC3S. The 10AE is the one of the rarest ones, along with the GTUs.


The FD3S is more rare than a FC3S. And the FD keeps becoming rarer. It will take the FC along time to catch up with the FD in rare factor.

 

Good point, but I think the FD has made all RX-7s more than just another rear-drive sports car. You mention you own an RX-7 to anyone who doesn't know you or your car, and suddenly they think you have a bad *** car, reguardless of whether you have an FC or FD. I'm sure they are thinking of the FD from the Fast and the Furious but the point is, it's a one of a kind. No matter if it has the 2 rotor 12A, 3 Rotor Turbo, or an LS1, the name RX-7 has the reputation of a CLASSIC!

 

FD is a classic already, FC has some catching up to do.

 

Good question. Since I first started noticing cars as a teen, the FB has held my heart. And until recently, I did not even know what a rotary engine was. Having been around my share of 'classic' cars I think that the sheet metal makes a big impression. Good lines will win the masses. But to generate loyal and enduring enthusiasts the mechanical must be original and executed well. And then you have to consider the target market. Inexpensive but innovative cars are classic, even if they are common. And don't forget that the Mini was tearing up the rally world when it was introduced with an innovation called front wheel drive with a transverse mounted engine.

As we can see, who you ask makes a big difference too. FC's do nothing for my heart, although I appreciate that they are special to many people. I love the mustangs of the 60's, and MG's of the 50's (TC +1), and many others. Classic is in the eye of the beholder

 

very well put. Perhaps my personal attraction to my own FC influences my opinion.

 

i think a car has to be popular longer than the fc has been out to be a classic

 

A classic car is 20 years or older. It has a strong following that sparks a passion in it's enthusiasts. It has something unique about it and brings improvment and progression. It has a aesthetic quality that surpasses it's competitors (in the viewers eyes.) So obviously there will be a lot of 'classic' cars. Mustang, Camaro, Firebird, Cougar, Gran Torino,Corvette, Rx7, Supra, Nissan 350Z, Celica All-Trac, MR2, Grand National, Typhoon, so many more...so yeah FC's are classics by the same term all these other cars are classics. Except, the FC has a rotary engine, only one company offers a rotary engine, and it's in a car that looks like a stealh fighter, handles well and is a quite a pure sports car. Rarity definitely makes a car have more general appeal, but the fact that the FC was such a great car, well balanced, that it has a rotary engine, and great style makes it a classic just as much as many porsches. It just depends on what the car means to you, and chances are you aren't the only one who feels the same.

 

The engine has to be the main reason, if it just had a piston engine it would be like any other sports car from the same period to most people. Thats why engine swaps to a standard engine get such a strange response I think. Its what makes them different.

 

Don't think it's a classic at all

 

a Porsche 924 is not a classic, it's an old entry level car most Porsche people make fun of

 

Don't forget the verts being the only rotary powered convertible.

 

Actually they made vert FB's. Now those are rare.

 

really??? a vert FB????? pics i demand a pic!!!

 

Search for "Pacific Avatar".

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...pacific+avatar

 

In 20 years, people will be looking at the FB's and FC's like everyone does at the Rx2,3, and 4's. Only the loyal and truely cheap will be driving them still. :P

 

I've got a 924, a 928 an FB, and an FC. Call me the "Hatchback *****". I consider all of them historic. But then again, everything is historic as long as it's a part of history in some form or another....which means as long as it exists and can be verified that it exists, then it is indeed 'historic'. But then again, I'm just being an existential retard.

I have historic car plates on my 924 and FB. Does that qualify them to be historic??

 

I beg to differ. In the universe, all things rare will become classics and sought after by people. Rotaries, and I don't care who you are, are rare. I don't care if 500,000 FB's were purchased in the USA or not (and I have no idea how many truly were sold), the fact remains that the rotary engine is a unique thing, and therefore there will always be people looking for one as a piece to collect.

That goes without saying that they may very well turn into exactly what old muscle cars have done now, in that they are collected, restored, and never driven. Perhaps that will be how they end up, perhaps not. But unique leads to desire, and the rx7 wasn't something that was horribly unique... it was something that worked while being unique, which makes it even more special.

The reliability may be ****, the cars themselves may be bland, but due to that engine that sits in the front of those cars, there will always be collectors of them out there.

And in that, I hope they end up like the Rx2's, 3's, 4's, and 5's. I hope they are raced just as much as those old cars are. That is what the rotary is all about, a rev-happy race engine. Small, compact, but has the potential to make gobs of power.

However, having said all that, age makes a car a classic more than anything else. Even a Ford Pinto can be a classic. I think it is 25 years old here in Indiana, if I recall correctly. If so, next year my FB gets classic plates and my insurance drops a bit more.

 

With out a doubt, the RX-7 is a classic. But right now we are at the stage in time where we can actually ENJOY the car and it's unique characteristics that WILL, in due time, make it a classic. So enjoy your RX-7, no matter what series it is, because in 10 - 20 years from now it may be sitting in a carpeted garage with a microfiber blanket waiting and begging for it to come out and play 10 days a year.

 

Just remember kiddies, Those GP/BN/whatever body kits may seem cool to you today, but the Rx7 really does look best in mostly stock form.

All it really needs, is suspension to close the wheel gap, and wheel spacers to bring the offset to a more pleasing view. But beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

 

I researched you question regarding the FC3S and your father-in-law's 924. I found that in 78-79 that the RX7 out-raced the 924 on timed 1/4 mile runs. If you Google and compare the two you will find that in the seventies, several car magazines and notable car reviews put the rx7 above the 924. Good luck with that.

 

bring out the zombies!

 

This.

 

go buy a L10B cosmo, now there you might have something!

 

FC3 is not rare, or a classic. FD might be, but that is thanks in part to movies like Fast and Furious : Tokyo Drift, and video games like Need for Speed that feature it as a super bad *** ultra cool drift super car even though it realistically takes a large budget and some know how to build the cars to the level that they preform in the movies. Where as you could take nearly any V-8 muscle car and make it perform like the one at the start of the movie for almost no budget.

I can go my CL right now and find several FC, SA/FB but there is only 1 FD and they want 17k for it.

Yeah its a cool car. Buts not yet a classic, doubt it will ever be. FDs might be.