Rotary is back on the menu at Mazda, and not just for eking out the range of the MX-30. Just over a year ago, the company revealed its stunning Iconic SP concept car with a uniquely Mazda take on the rotary sports car. See, the concept’s twin-rotor engine serves as a generator for an electric motor, though there’s also a battery onboard that can be charged conventionally. The whole system was said to develop 370hp which, when combined with a 1,450kg, sounded mighty promising indeed. Just last month, Mazda hinted that the SP was designed with production very much in mind, and that it could appear in the not-too-distant future - an occurrence that would likely send the forums into meltdown.
For good reason. We’ve been waiting an awfully long time for a rotary-powered sports car, and the occasional concept (remember the beautiful RX-Vision?) and leaked patent have only served to drum up excitement for a product that has yet to materialise. Hopefully a production version of the Iconic SP will be worth the immense anticipation, although given that the petrol engine will likely purr away while it powers the electric motor rather than scream to a fever pitch, it’s unlikely to be the RX successor many have been crossing their fingers for. Accordingly, if it’s rev-happy Wankel action you're pining for, they don’t come much better than this RX-7.
Specifically, a Spirit R Type A, the ultimate RX-7 and (probably) the best road-going rotary sports car there’s ever been. It arrived in 2002 as a run-out model and, like all the best Japanese performance cars, was sold exclusively to the JDM. Three versions were built across a strong production run, with the two-seat manual Type A being the most sought-after. That was joined by the rarer Type B, a 2+2 with the A’s five-speed manual, and the automatic Type C which, as you can imagine, sold in tiny numbers.
What made the Spirit R so special was that it combined all the good bits from the multitude of RX-7 specials and threw in a few more for good measure. Upgrades included Bilstein dampers, drilled brake discs and a bump in power to 280hp (unless you went for the Type C auto, which only had 255hp). But arguably the biggest draw of the Type A were the lightweight, Kevlar-backed red Recaro bucket seats, which look like they’ve been ripped straight out of a Ferrari F40. They weren’t available on the Type B or C, making the Type A that extra bit special.
And just look at it. The Spirit R’s adjustable spoiler, front splitter and forged BBS wheels worked superbly with the third-generation RX-7’s curvy silhouette. The previous owners don’t appear to have mucked about with it, either. This Titanium Grey Metallic example looks to be in fabulous condition throughout with no mods in sight and is even still running the stock twin-exhaust system (it’s not often you find an RX-7 without a grenade launcher out the back).
Evidently, it’s lived a pampered life. The car was imported from Japan in 2018 and has allegedly spent the last four years tucked away in dry storage, which goes some way to explaining the immaculate condition and the grand total of 19,000 miles covered. The ad says it’s recently undergone a specialist service, too, so should be ready to go once you’ve handed over the asking price of £79,500. A lot for an RX-7, that, especially when you could probably slap some Bilsteins onto one of the standard models for quite a bit less. But it won’t have kevlar Recaros, those exquisite wheels nor the clout that comes with owning the ultimate RX-7. As rotary sports cars go, nothing else beats it. Nothing yet, anyway.
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