1993 - 1995 Mazda RX-7 Pre-Owned

But there are lots of cars in the 1,200 to 1,300 kilo (2,800 pound) range, so what's so special about the RX? It all came down

The RX rotary engine produced 255 horsepower at a stratospheric 8,000 rpm. (Photo: Mazda Canada)

to three numbers, 255. And it achieved maximum output at a stratospheric 8,000 rpm! To drive the point home, the 86 kilo (190 pound) heavier 1991 RX-7 made do with 50 less horsepower, and at the time we considered it pretty quick. Mazda upped the 13B rotary's output by giving it twin-rotors and sequential twin turbochargers, thus the name 13B-REW (standing for 13B, Rotary Engine Twin Turbo - W used as shorthand for 'double' in Japanese). The smaller, lighter turbos spun up to speed quickly, reducing lag. Altogether the RX package delivered a 25 percent greater power-to-weight ratio, which is equal to 11 pounds per horsepower, resulting in blistering a 5 second sprint to 100 km/h.

It's fully independent suspension is quite capable of managing severe loads, not from piling what-have-you into its diminutive liftback accessible cargo area but rather the loads generated by extreme G-forces. The RX featured an ideal 50:50 weight distribution, but nevertheless needed to be respected. Stories of overzealous enthusiasts overwhelming the chassis, or rather pushing the car too quickly into a corner, over-correcting the problem by dialing in too much steering input or

The RX featured an ideal 50:50 weight distribution, but nevertheless needed to be respected. (Photo: Mazda Canada)

worse, braking mid-corner, could pitch the car around sideways in an oversteering fiasco. But then again, most cars will do something similar if poorly driven. Only the Porsche 968 and Nissan 300ZX of the era were known for getting bad drivers out of trouble, but there's always a penalty paid by good drivers for a car that can do that, or at least that's what RX-7 aficionados will tell you.

Mazda's sports car, or at least its top-tier sports car as the MX-5 Miata was also available from '93 to '95, road on 225/50VR-16 performance tires wrapped around 16-inch 5-spoke alloy rims. Their ultra-light design and expansive contact patch were a substantial part of the car's adhesion formula, benefiting handling and braking.