Is the Mazda RX-7 FB generation a car that we’ve all been sleeping on? It sure seems that way, as you can still buy one of these rotary-powered wonders for relatively short money. The wedge-shaped design is still iconic and borderline instantly recognizable as an RX-7, a character trait that few sports cars outside of the big boys like the 911 and Corvette can claim. Through the years, the RX-7 has been a mainstay of Japanese sports car culture, but it still seems to be sitting on the sidelines – for now. This 1983 example listed here on eBay is said to be fresh out of an estate sale and is listed with a Buy-It-Now of $9,000.
When Porsche 911s from the same era start at $40,000 for a project, it’s rather remarkable the RX-7 remains as affordable as it does. From a styling exercise alone, it captures the 80s personal almost perfectly: rear window louvers, strakes across the taillights, uniquely styled (and chunky) alloy wheels, and a driver-focused cockpit. There’s a little bit of DeLorean, and a little bit of Corvette in the design, if you ask me, even though the Mazda was well ahead of the former in time to market. The rotary powerplant made the pretty coupe a bit of an oddball from the start, especially when it wasn’t exactly going head-t0-head with the MK1 VW GTI but was far from a Corvette killer.
What’s slightly crazy to me is how a clean VW GTI of the same era would easily clear $10,000 in terms of a selling price but I doubt this Mazda will reach $9K (though, that is a fair ask.) The seller notes that this RX-7 was with the second owner from 1988 until recently, when he purchased it from that individual’s estate. It apparently sat for 25 years before he got his hands on it and performed a fair amount of deferred maintenance; he notes that it still smokes a little and the exhaust system may need replacing, but by and large, it sounds and looks like a survivor-grade FB.
The 12A “Wankel” engine produced around 100 horsepower when new, but the real claim to fame was the lofty 7,000 RPM redline. Few cars were known for revving like this, especially in the 1980s when the malaise era hangover was still burning off. Yes, the rotary engine came with some additional maintenance requirements that would give it a bit of a black eye when in the hands of someone who didn’t understand this, but this hasn’t kept the introductory RX-7 from being appreciated by Mazda loyalists. Today, this stands as one of the better buys in the sports car world, especially if you find one of the limited editions that came with a healthy horsepower bump.
Had one of these, was a GSL the deluxe version lol. Found it on a car lot, anybody ever go to one of those sales where you get in the car at opening time and then they come along and they come along and mark the price on the windshield? Anyway I think it was 700 dollars. Yes I bought it. Needed a little TLC the hardest part was getting it to pass an emissions test. Ohio in the early 90’s? That little rotary with a carburetor the hydrocarbons were on the verge, didn’t help the operators couldn’t drive a stick. Finally complained to the supervisor and it barely failed the third time. I had been though the carburetor twice timing was spot on plugs new and gaped. He got in it and shifted though the gears and it passed. Was a fun car, was the.start of my Mazda Rx 7 adventure. Have owned all three generations and the first ones will take licking. They just luv to rev. Just a note there is a lot of fresh coverage on the bottom side. Next owner needs to inspect closely.