1989 Mazda RX-7 Was Just Sold for Record Value

And it doesn't look like we've reached the upper limit yet. Well, if there even is such a thing. With electrification taking over, cars with internal combustion engines will be museum items half a century from now. If you would've bought into the Japanese sports car market 10 years ago, you would be ready to cash in on your predictions for the future.

Investing in Bitcoin would've been better, but getting into older cars might have been more exciting. We were just recently looking at the RX-7 market. Prices are soaring these days. Nostalgia is hitting hard, and newer cars just aren't as exciting. Plus, if you're a '90s kid, you probably dreamt about owning a car from that period. Now, 30 years later, you can probably also afford it.

Up until yesterday, the most expensive street-going FC RX-7 ever sold on Bring a Trailer was a 1988 Turbo II. Someone won the auction last month and ended up paying $28,500 for that car. Funny enough, that was just one week after someone had paid $25,000 for a similar vehicle. The record used to belong to the 10th Anniversary FC, which was auctioned off on the last day of 2020 for a total of $24,750.

About a week ago, I noticed multiple members of the global RX-7 community talking about a 2,200-mile (3,540 km) Turbo II that had popped up on Bring a Trailer. Several people pointed out their suspicion of odometer fraud. I've seen several FC owners noting that the seat-wear seems excessive given the declared number of miles. At the same time, we have to remember those leather seats are 30+ years old by now.

One of the things that makes this such a desirable car is that it's a Series 5 model. This was available between 1989 to 1992. This was slightly more advanced than the Series 4, and at the time, it was an interesting alternative to the Porsche 944. The seller has owned the car since 1995 but has mostly kept it in storage. When this car left the dealership in 1989, it had a sticker price of $27,313.

The paint job isn't all perfect, and there are several other minor issues that you should expect from a car this age. The bidding war on this car started just several hours before the auction came to an end. From the second it was at $30,000, it became clear that this car was going to set a new record, at least from a BaT perspective.

In less than three hours, that value more than doubled. And so, this Turbo II RX-7 went for $63,000, something unheard of for a car like this. If you're dying to get your hands on a turbocharged rotary vehicle, the FC RX-7 is still the cheapest way to go. But that's not going to last long. Another FC has recently been listed at the auction, and after just one day, the highest bid is already at $20,000. Get'em while you still can!