Mazda FD RX7 Series 8

Mazda
FD RX7
sERIES 8

SLEEK DESIGN AND HIGH REVVING PERFORMANCE THAT WAS UNMATCHED FOR A 90’S VEHICLE

Our Take on Matt’s RX-7

“Taking a car widely regarded as one of the best-looking designs of the 1990s, and making it better is a tall ask but Matt’s passion for this iconic tuner car ensured he enhanced the best aspects of what Mazda gave us with the FD, and created a finely balanced sports car that would be enjoyable to drive in almost any setting.

We recognise modern classics like these JDM turbocharged rockets is just as important as any chrome-bumper model, and our policies reflect the need to offer more security than what a general insurer could offer for common daily transport.”

Mazda's design was well ahead of the 90's

Following an internal design contest, Mazda rocked the world with their all-new third-generation RX-7 upon its 1991 launch. Wu-huang Chin’s sleek, low-slung, and rounded design was a world away from the square, 80s-inspired second-generation FC model, and immediately caused a sensation.

The FD RX-7 was also revolutionary under the curvaceous bonnet, as the first car from Japan to feature sequential twin-turbocharging set-up. Almost immediately the twin-rotor, twin-turbocharged 13B-REW engine proved to be highly tunable, and signalled that the third-gen RX-7 as a potentially fearsome race car.

OUR DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST

Not only a customer.. but also an employee!

Matt is our in-house digital marketing specialist, handling all things paid media advertising, social media, content creation & planning, coordinating brand campaigns and working closely with industry ambassadors to grow our business!

His passion lies with all things Rotary Powered, WRX's & Old-School V8s.

A RED FD RX7 was always the poster car

One young Australian who was deeply inspired by Mazda’s 90s sports car icon is Matt Teixeira, who has owned this Vintage Red example for six years.

Matt counts his rotary enthusiast father as the main source of his passion for the Wankel-powered Mazdas, along with heavy influences from Fast & Furious movies, as well as the Need for Speed and Forza computer driving simulations.

This model of RX-7 was a dream car for for a young Matt, especially growing up around rotaries his dad owned. A red FD was the poster car Matt dreamed of, as he singled out the curvaceous shape, iconic rotary exhaust note, and turbo rush as what helped him fall deeply in love with these cars

rotary engines take to turbocharging like a duck takes to water

Mazda rotary engines take to turbocharging like a duck takes to water, so Matt’s lightweight RX-7 doesn’t need radical amounts of work to produce brutal power. He’s had the 13B rebuilt with a mild port to keep the engine friendly for street duties, with studs and dowels added to keep it reliable at the stratospheric RPM rotaries are capable of reaching.

Paired to this are high-flowed turbochargers off the SP model, which was an Australia-only special edition designed to dominate production car racing in the ‘90s, beating factory Porsches, HSVs, M3 BMWs and more. They connect to Auto Exe carbon intake and a PWR intercooler and radiator combo.

One of the best handling cars to come out of japan

One of Mazda’s best-handling chassis, the FD RX-7 can be turned into a flat-out circuit-dominating race car, or lightly tuned into a back road-carving monster. As he was after a clean weekend street machine, Matt went with the latter option.

He’s fitted Pedders Xtreme coil-over struts to tighten up the handling, while also lending a more aesthetically pleasing ride height. Paired with Mazda RX8 GT 19-inch wheels that are made by BBS Matt’s RX-7 has a simple, effective combo to make cornering a cinch.

However, he’s planning major upgrades, with a much more powerful engine in the works featuring more aggressive porting and a big single turbo. This will be paired with air bag suspension for even lower stance, and Japanese Work wheels.

Inside the third, and final, generation of RX-7 features one of the most well-regarded interiors of any sports car of this period.

Tight, driver-focused and without any fluff which would distract the pilot from the task at hand, it would be easy to over-complicate an FD cabin. As with the rest of his car, Matt has chosen to tread a path of restraint with interior upgrades.

Still in immaculate condition, despite being 24 years-old, it features a rare Nardi steering wheel that offers far better looks than the regular RX-7 tiller, as well the desirable white-faced gauges in the dash cluster.

So far the only aftermarket additions are a double-DIN Apple Car Play headunit and full sound system.

While Matt’s 13B-REW rotary currently features a “mild port” on its rebuilt engine, he has plans to upgrade this to a more aggressive “Bridgeport”, which features a larger shape cut into the side housing of the engine. Increasing the size of the engine’s ports will help the rotary breathe harder and rev faster, though it comes at the expense of low-end drivability.

THIS FD RX7 is apart of our "Anything but Ordinary" series

This build isn’t just a one off story – it’s part of our national brand campaign celebrating the people, cars, and culture that define what it means to be an Enthusiast