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One Owner Rotary: 1989 Mazda RX-7 Convertible

To me, the FC-chassis Mazda RX-7 is one of the most underappreciated Japanese sports cars of the modern era. Like the MKIII-chassis Toyota Supra and the Z31 Nissan 300ZX, these cars have seemingly languished behind their older and younger siblings in terms of desirability for reasons that escape me. This 1989 Mazda RX-7 convertible is offered here on Barn Finds Classifieds on behalf of the longtime original owner for $20,000.

Oh, those lines! I often gripe that convertibles do a terrible job of capturing the style of the original hardtop design but the FC RX-7 is a rare exception. This is a car that looks infinitely better than most convertible conversions, and the only thing that could improve it is losing the traditional convertible top boot in favor of a hard shell design that reveals a completely smooth rear decklid. This RX-7 sports the preferred BBS wheels that came as options on the later production models.

The interior is clean and classical, reflecting the simplistic approach many Japanese automakers took to cockpit designs in the 1980s. Honda is another great example of this, giving drivers everything they need and nothing they don’t. This RX-7 has nearly 100,000 miles on the clock but looks far newer, with seemingly gorgeous paint and sporting a black leather interior with no major faults. The RX-7 has been in California for most of, if not all, of it’s life, and the cosmetics certainly back that up.

Mazda never did offer its second-generation convertible with a turbocharged rotary, which is shame; that car would be a legitimate collector’s item for sure. Still, finding an RX-7 in stock condition like this car is makes it a monumental find in and of itself considering how many have been modified and beaten like a sick mule. The seller is asking top dollar for this specimen, but sometimes, the cars absolutely deserve the price when they present as well as this droptop RX-7 seemingly does.

Comments

  1. Avatar photo Cadmanls Member

    Good write up, I have posted before about the 2nd gen as being a great all around sports car. Ride is good and handling is more than fair. Mazda was building some really good cars at the time.

    Like 1
  2. Avatar photo healeydays

    I had many Rx7s starting with my 1st in the fall of 1978 and 2 of my favorites were my ragtops (88 & 91). I’m sorry, but a 89 with 100K isn’t worth 20K.

    Like 7
  3. Avatar photo Derek Trieglaff

    Correction… They didn’t IMPORT any turbo convertibles to the states. There WERE turbo II convertibles in their homeland and other countries that allowed right hand drive imports. You can now import yourself a right hand drive turbo convertible if you have some cash laying around and wanna pay import fees. They are exempt from the 25year law now.

    Like 2
    • Avatar photo healeydays

      Canada also got some.

      Like 1
  4. Avatar photo JE Vizzusi

    10k over market value another phishing trip. 100k no timing belt needed but these engines are only good for 80 to 100k so… watch out! jv smash palace

    Like 3
  5. Avatar photo Kevin M Fear

    I agree way overpriced, this is a $7500.00 car. BUT I drover two as daily drivers in the 90’s and put over 150K on both without a problem. The key is changing the oil every 3000 miles. The only repairs were exhaust and of all things left rear wheel bearings!

    Like 0
  6. Avatar photo JimZ Member

    I really enjoyed my ’89 RX7. Bought it relatively cheap as a stalled project with 140k on the clock. All original, I had the motor rebuilt, new tires, and a fresh coat of paint. Didn’t break the bank. Sold it 10 yrs ago for a bit over $5k…Still miss it, was the most fun car I’ve owned!

    Like 1
  7. Avatar photo jimbunte Member

    thanks for everyone’s feedback – we’ve lowered the ask and will consider all offers – we want it to go to a good home!

    Like 0

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