2001 Mazda

*** SOLD ***

Note: 70 Picture Slideshow & Comprehensive description can be viewed on our website.

Detailed Description:

This pristine RX-7 Type RS final generation model took us around 3 months of daily searching to find, after the most recent example of a rare model of final production RX-7 (Spirit R Type A) attracted much interest.

The RX-7 Type RS was the discreet enthusiast's model which included larger diameter brakes at each corner, twin oil coolers & 280 bhp as standard, with luxury cloth front seats, lightweight forged alloy spare wheel and, as standard, Bilstein sports suspension too.

It's perhaps interesting to note that Euro & US legislation banned pop-up headlights on production cars from 1999 and only Mazda continued to make the RX-7 (The MX-5 changed in 1999 in response) up till 2002, since this wasn't a model sold anywhere but Japan (U.S. & E.U. stopped selling the 3rd generation RX-7 in 1995). So the RX-7 was the last production car to be built with pop-up headlights.

Watch here a test drive in the U.S. of the only RX-7 of late spec ever built outside of Japan (A replica Spirit R in this case, as it was built from a pre 1995 original shell, complete with U.S. model sunroof, which the Spirit R was never fitted with, nor were any of the 1,504 Spirit R's ever made in LHD).

With most RX-7 examples available even in Japan nowadays being tired and often in need of major expense to put completely right, we hadn't wanted to compromise & continued to search until we found this amazing low genuine mileage final production spec. RX-7 Type RS. Comparing closely with other RX-7's you may see on offer elsewhere, you can see why this car offers much better value for money than typically abused and poorly cared for RX-7's.

This example is essentially in top condition and will no doubt be one of the very best in Europe when imported. We currently only supply a handful of RX-7's of all models per year, but as we cannot find cars of the caliber we would want to own ourselves we simply don't compromise, hence why we stock so few.

With over 15 years of experience in sourcing these and having 3 highly tuned examples of our own, we are not only enthusiasts for these but know RX-7's very well, so you can be confident of the quality we offer. With current stock we also continue looking for other good pre 1999 model to re-create as 1999+ styled examples, but it is likely to take a while and some of our RX-7's are may be sold before being advertised, such is demand for the best examples and the difficulty in finding them.

An FD3S RX-7 as standard has excellent junior supercar performance & being a lightweight car doesn't require major tuning. At best, 350 bhp or so on standard turbos with improved cooling is as far as we would recommend going. Better for road use is to have an easy to drive non-tempermental machine that can give 10's of thousands of miles more and maximum enjoyment. The RX-7 was one of the fastest stopping cars in the world when introduced and today it's brakes still remain excellent, aided by ABS of course. In this example it's 4-channel compared to earlier 3 channel systems (With larger spec brakes too). Fine chassis balance is given by placement of the main engine components aft of the front cross member, which resulted in near perfect 50/50 weight distribution and by default made these cars uniquely designed mid-engine cars. Tyre contact with road surfaces remains much more linear than most road cars due to double wishbone alloy suspension arms. There are few production cars with such quality of design and timeless body design that still looks so fresh today, as when it came out in Japan in 1992. Mazda got this car so right. Perfect, we'd say. It'll be a hard act to follow when the rumoured replacement is released and unlikely it'll be quite as much fun due to modern emissions & safety regulations.

Original specification This example, being a final production (FD3S-60XXXX) model includes white faced instrumentation and different gauge design to earlier models. Note a boost gauge is also integrated into the main cluster with this later design.

Seat material is more luxurious than previous RS models, whilst still being lightweight & supportive. There is a Nardi leather trimmed sports steering wheel complete with the later Mazda emblem & SRS airbag plus passenger SRS airbag too. The Type RS model's power was increased slightly over lesser models, offering 280 bhp as standard. The RS also included other nice touches such as lightweight alloy jack and forged alloy (Enkei) space saver spare wheel. As with all models there is PAS, P/W, AC, remote central locking, fitted (original option) mats, factory fitted privacy glass at the rear, etc. For performance the Type RS also included dual oil coolers, front & rear strut braces and larger brake rotors at each corner - same as RZ specification.

Engine Performance Upgrades: Although standard in engine mechanical & turbo specification, the previous owner selected some well chosen performance upgrades, which are amongst some of the most expensive in Japan:

Fujita Engineering, one of Japan's premier & most respected RX-7 specialists tuned it with a perfectly mapped HKS F Con V Pro ECU combined with a Blitz SBC boost Controller. Cooling is especially important on rotaries when they're tuned, so heat is dissipated & they remain reliable and so Fujita Engineering added a FEED GT Intercooler (With hard piping kit for improved reliability against boost hoses coming off under power) & large capacity copper radiator. To aid air flow and maximize cooling the previous owner also added a Shift Sports Cooling bonnet complete with body-coloured safety pins. There is also a Blitz air cleaner kit & R-Magic Stainless Steel cat-back exhaust. To handle the extra power there's an OS Giken twin-plate clutch kit (near new of course). Turbo boost is set to 0.9 bar and performance is strong. It's making around 360 bhp at this setting. Mapping is excellent, so the car starts without drama and runs perfectly too. We test drove it and also verified the boost setting was fine with the optional baffle removed from the exhaust too.

Braking & handling Upgrades: To improve handling & braking, there's a set of Ohlins suspension & a set of braided hoses. 18" Enkei RP-F1 wheels are staggered in size and of perfect 8 inch (front) & 9 inch (rear) width & offsets for RX-7 fitment. These are fitted with good quality sports tyres, with much tread remaining (rear tyres are new). Also fitted is a RAYS alumite security wheel nut set.

Interior Improvements: There is an RE-Amemiya 300km/h White Faced speedometer, documented by complete service history records (since new) as having been fitted when the original speedometer showed 12,500km. The RE-A speedo's odometer shows 21,550km currently, so the total original mileage from new is just 34,050km (21,162 miles equivalent). There is full service history to prove this. There are also two neatly fitted Defi Advance white faced gauges for water temperature & boost with the control unit hidden beneath the dashboard's centre console and the controller tidily placed just beneath the boost controller.

It's rare to find one of these with the original hifi still in place. This plays CD's & tapes. Probably worth a fair bit to a collector - but we can supply a DIN fitting kit if the owner wants to plug & play a more modern head unit without need to cut original wires, etc.

Further Upgrades: Although nothing further is needed for this car, we're specialists in the supply of performance parts for RX-7's and know these cars very well, owning 3 ourselves. For more details please ask us for suggestions or visit our websites.

Test Drive & Condition: This is a one owner car from new and has been regularly serviced (Full service history) and well maintained. With a recent oil change this car runs very sweetly. We drove this car several times before de-registering in Japan and found it to drive perfectly. With an engine that pulls strongly from instant boost, brakes that have virtually no wear & excellent suspension control, we found nothing that needs doing. The paintwork in as shown in stunning unmarked condition. We noted there's no pin dents at all on the body sides except for one small one on the area shown. There's just a few stone chips on the bonnet which we will have re-painted before the car is shipped to UK.

It's incredible to see such condition on a car of this age, really but another indication of the care that has been lavished on it. Wheels are in good condition although one has some ingrained marks (rear offside), but this isn't noticeable unless looking specifically. It would be possible to have this repaired for minimal cost by a specialist if desired.

All indicators show this car wasn't driven hard. There's also no corrosion at all to any of the wheels nor the underside, a sign this car's never been driven in salt or grit conditions. Inside, we could see this car has never been smoked in, ever. Seats are in excellent condition with none of the usual bolster wear found on higher mileage examples.

The boot also looks to have no marks and the spare + tools have never been used. We also noted the car comes with all original booklets and FSH as mentioned prior.

From the care it's had & the incredible condition, we know this car belonged to a mature owner since new who liked to have a nice performance car but hardly used it. It's evident this car was always well cared for and not driven hard and also been garaged since new. It's in stunning condition throughout.

RX-7's in as beautiful & low mileage modified condition as this combined at an affordable price are extremely hard to find nowadays, yet alone rare models like this last production Type RS model. This example's clearly been hardly used. The engine is in fine health with good oil pressure & engine health. It's producing an excellent spread of power - perfectly healthy and with plenty of life to give with mileage this low. For further peace of mind when supplied to UK, a 12 month warranty will be supplied with this car also covering rotor tips and water seals.

Note the value of these cars is now rising fast. OTR price: £20,495

Contact us to secure this example from our stock or source an alternative top condition quality RX-7 to order.

Please note our hand-picked RX-7's always sell fast when we have them because they're the best there is. If you prefer to wait to see what else we have coming rather than reserve stock, or better still place an order and be first in line, usually you will miss the opportunity.

Newera Imports is the only supplier consistently recommended by UK Mazda Rotary Club, FDUK Club members and the UK's top RX-7 tuners for supplying the best hand picked RX-7's.