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Do You Remember the Mazda RX-7? Here Are Three Generations of It in New Pics

It’s hard to believe, but there’s an entire generation of young individuals out there that haven’t gotten a chance to experience first hand one of the quintessential rotary engined machines, the Mazda RX-7. The nameplate that was born at the height of the oil crisis of the 1970s exited the scene 18 years ago, and in some circles has been missed ever since.
Mazda RX-7 76 photos
Photo: Mazda
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The Japanese company behind the RX-7, Mazda, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and had things been different globally, we probably would have enjoyed special events across the globe marking the moment. Things being as they are, though, Mazda has to make do with the hand dealt to it.

On Monday, April 6, Mazda decided to kick off what we expect will be a long celebration with a retrospective on the RX-7 and what it meant to the brand. It also dumped an extensive photo gallery online showing the three generations of the model (attached above this text).

The RX-7 line was born in 1978 as Mazda’s first mass-market sports car. The nameplate quickly established the Japanese name in various racing series across the world, but also brought it a well-deserved notoriety among civilian customers.

The second generation followed in 1985, with a design closely inspired by that of the Porsche 944, and the third followed in 1992 as the coronation of decades of evolution.

Between the moment it first surfaced and until it was discontinued 24 years later, there were over 800,000 units of the RX-7 produced, making it the most successful rotary powered vehicle in history.

Some of these cars went on to become motorsport icons. The Mazda RX-7 even won the 1980 and 1981 British Saloon Car Championship, the 1981 24 Hours of Spa (thus becoming the first Japanese-made car to achieve such a feat), and over 100 IMSA races in the U.S., far outperforming any other model.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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