While we can easily become enthusiastic when it comes to racecar, we have a special spot in our hearts for machines that unleash the devil at the racetrack, but remain street legal and bless our public roads with their horsepower.
The latest example of this comes from a 1990 Mazda RX-7 that has been modified beyond recognition. We’re not referring to the visual side of the car here, as you’ll easily be able to tell this is an RX-7. Instead, we’re talking about the tech side of the vehicle.
This Mazda has ditched its rotary power in favor of a good old Chevy big block. To be more precise, we are dealing with a 450 cubic inches V8. The engine works with a pair of 75 mm turbos in order to make this car competitive on the drag racing scene.
The engine can place around 1,500 hp at the mercy of the driver’s right foot, depending on the boost setting. And speaking of the driver, the guy in this RX-7 had massive goals for this year’s Drag Week, having set himself a 7:50 goal for the quarter mile. For the record, this is a 3,300 lbs machine whose aerodynamics aren’t exactly perfect. And when you're working at this level of horsepower without being a tuner, keeping the engine in check is not that easy.
Sure, the Mazda wouldn’t go below the low 8s level, but, as the man said “there’s always next year!”
Keep in mind that, instead of putting his car on a trailer, the guy used the RX-7 to tow the trailer where he stored the racing supplies. He went from Madison, IL to Indianapolis, In, Union Grove, Wi, Cordova, IL and finally raced in Madison, IL.
As you’ll be able to see in the clip below, both the track time and the road trip had their own tense moments, but it was all good fun.
This Mazda has ditched its rotary power in favor of a good old Chevy big block. To be more precise, we are dealing with a 450 cubic inches V8. The engine works with a pair of 75 mm turbos in order to make this car competitive on the drag racing scene.
The engine can place around 1,500 hp at the mercy of the driver’s right foot, depending on the boost setting. And speaking of the driver, the guy in this RX-7 had massive goals for this year’s Drag Week, having set himself a 7:50 goal for the quarter mile. For the record, this is a 3,300 lbs machine whose aerodynamics aren’t exactly perfect. And when you're working at this level of horsepower without being a tuner, keeping the engine in check is not that easy.
Sure, the Mazda wouldn’t go below the low 8s level, but, as the man said “there’s always next year!”
Keep in mind that, instead of putting his car on a trailer, the guy used the RX-7 to tow the trailer where he stored the racing supplies. He went from Madison, IL to Indianapolis, In, Union Grove, Wi, Cordova, IL and finally raced in Madison, IL.
As you’ll be able to see in the clip below, both the track time and the road trip had their own tense moments, but it was all good fun.