Black and Gold Kiwi RX-7 Looks Like a Giant Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt

I've seen thousands of RX-7-based projects over the past two decades. It's hard to keep track of all of them. But you can remember the ones that stand out from the crowd.

More and more people are getting into rotaries today. Adam LZ bought two FC RX-7s. James Deane switched to a four-rotor setup for his FD. You'll see at least two rotary-powered 'Vettes out there. And the list goes on.

It all started with Gran Turismo 2

Gauging which countries have the most fantastic rotary cars can be tricky. Things are slow in Europe, with solid points in Greece and the United Kingdom. The scene is growing in the USA, but there's room for improvement. You'll see a lot of insane builds in Thailand, where every other RX-7 has a RE-Amemiya kit on it. But most of the time, people are focusing on FDs. I get it. It's the ultimate RX vehicle. But I would love to see more FC projects, given I have one at home, too.

I've compiled a list of the coolest second-generation RX-7s in the world. Marios Spanos is building his ultimate FC in Greece, and I'll report on that when it's ready. Then there's Mitsuru Haruguchi's old D1GP car, which is now in Australia. We must remember Teruyoshi Iwai's 3-rotor FC, which is still part of the Japanese Drift Championship.

But any rotary enthusiast will tell you that New Zealand and Australia are the places to be outside Japan for these cars. While Mad Mike has built several cars based on the FD and the RX-8, one Kiwi man set out to develop his dream-level FC. And I think it's one of the coolest second-generation RX-7s on Earth.

Brad Wright is a 38-year-old Whangarei entrepreneur who owns The Tint Shop. I have been following his project for a few years now, but his recent videos have convinced me to reach out for an interview. Naturally, I was curious to learn where it all started for him: "I've always been interested in cars, playing racing games, and buying Hot Wheels. But it kicked off when I was 14, as I started playing Gran Turismo 2."

"I started making friends who came from petrolhead families. I first heard about rotaries when I was 15 or 16, and they made me curious. There was this red Series 4 RX-7 around town that had a lot of mods, and I was fascinated by it. But I also remember a certain slammed Series 1 RX-7." Growing up with so many rotary-powered cars around, that was bound to happen. And let's not forget that Rod Millen also hails from New Zealand, and he used to race RX-3 and RX-7s in the '70s and '80s.

Having a drift car was my ultimate dream.

I've often seen people ask: "Why is New Zealand such a popular destination for these cars?" And Brad surprised me by sharing a story that may be part legend, part real life: "The Mazda dealership here had one of the country's first dynos, back in the '70s. They were modifying cars, pulling engines apart and rebuilding them, and testing to see how far they've gone.Legend has it, that dealership shared their research with Mazda Japan and that’s how porting knowledge came to NZ."

Whether that's more myth than reality, I'd certainly like to do some further investigations. I've never been to New Zealand before, but it might be the right moment to do so. As we were talking about all things rotaries, I asked whether these cars are more affordable there than in other parts of the world. "Quite the opposite. People love them so much that there is a high demand for these cars. Before my time, a lot of them got thrashed or rusted out. That's what life on the island will do to them. In this day and age, importing one from the USA is one of the best options, despite the shipping costs."

I could've spent hours chatting to Brad about the NZ rotary life, but I decided to press on and learn more about some of his previous cars. His first car was a 1984 Toyota Starlet, and he has always been into vehicles with RWD drive simply because of "Skids!" Toyotas were cheaper then, but he quickly moved on to Mazdas, starting with a Series 1 RX-7, a rotary-swapped 626, and a B1600. The REPU truck never reached NZ, but Brad swapped a rotary engine inside the B1600 to make his own.

But he ultimately had to let this one go to purchase the engine for his new FC project. "Having a drift car was my ultimate dream, and I never thought I'd get here. I bought the Series 4 FC six or seven years ago. I got it from my mate, who had it for over ten years prior. We have been in the same group of friends for almost 20 years. The car was almost stock, but he wasn't driving it anymore as he had gone to Australia."

We break a lot of axles.

"When he returned, he offered to sell it to me. It's a Turbo II model, as NAs were unavailable in NZ. I initially planned to turn it into a grassroots beater. As I run a tinting/wrapping business, I wrapped it for an event. It looked so good outside that I wanted every other part to be on the same level. It all got out of control quickly, and the project snowballed into what it is today."

It would help if you looked at the photos first and then came back to read more about the specs. Brad's FC runs on a Semi-PP Cosmo 13BRE engine with Bridgeport plates. As T-Pain would say, "Baby's got brap!" Thanks to a massive Borg Warner EFR9180 turbo and many other upgrades, this FC has a maximum output of 630 horsepower on 17 PSI (1.17 bar) of boost and 98 octane pump gas. That's quite a lot for a car that only weighs 2,645 lbs (1,200 kg). Brad runs a Link ECU, which more and more people are praising.

As expected, he no longer uses the standard FC gearbox, which wouldn't have handled the abuse. He bought a TTi 5-speed sequential transmission, but I was shocked that he still runs the stock differential and axles. "It's my last thing to upgrade. We break a lot of axles. We might go for a Winters product or a Ronin setup soon."

Looking past the custom-built BN Sports wide-body kit, you can't help but notice the wheels on this car. You might remember seeing Mad Mike using the same setup years ago for his RX-8, if they feel familiar. It's a one-off set of Nessen Forged rims, 17 x 10.5J on the front axle and 18 x 11.5J in the rear. You get that Hot Wheels Super Treasure Hunt vibe just by looking at them, and the black and gold color combo works excellent here.

Something unexpected always happens.

I was even more surprised to hear that Brad uses 326Power coilovers. If you didn't already know, this is Haruguchi's company. I asked him if he had ever met with the Japanese legends: "I haven't met him, but he was the one who recommended the correct settings for my application. Dialing this car in for drifting has been challenging. I've only really started fixing the bugs. Even though I used the best quality components throughout the build, I needed to calculate the time for testing and tuning the suspension, for instance."

"Things I've engineered and thought would work must be re-engineered; something unexpected always happens. I've done five or six track days in it, but SummerBash was my first proper event. I'm still learning to drive and drift the car on the track. It might be one of the most difficult common drift chassis to master, and at one point, I spent a whole year just studying suspension setups. I've found some good advice from both Chelsea Denofa and Mitto Steele."

"But I've also spoken to a few Japanese drift pros, who have all been helpful." Brad has been through a lot with this car, including rebuilding the brand-new Cosmo engine during COVID-19. But all the tough times and money it swallowed so far fade away as he gets behind the wheel. "Every time I drive it, I realize how sick it is. It makes me want to do silly things and always puts a smile on my face. I'll never stop upgrading it. My goal is to take it to as many events as possible and ultimately ship it overseas to Australia or Japan so that I can drive it there, too."

Last but not least, I asked Brad for advice for any young person considering building a rotary-powered car. "Buy it expecting the engine to be less than great. If it turns out it's good, you're winning. If it wasn't in good shape, you already expected that to happen." Those are words to live by if you're a rotary enthusiast. Thank you, Brad, for the inspiration; I'm off to take my FC out of the garage and imagine it will one day be as fantastic as yours.

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