Rotor heads are extremely picky when it comes to their cars. They won't take lightly to engine swaps that don't involve rotors, and they won't approve any mods that ruin the original Japanese design cues. But now and then, a crazy idea can be approved by the community, given the right circumstances.
You can put a rotary engine in any kind of vehicle, and the enthusiasts will follow that build with avid interest. Granted, they're a bit more sensible when it comes to someone fiddling around with their beloved cars. The RX-7 has been around for decades, and we've seen it used for many purposes. But if there's one thing the RX-7 is known for, is its inability to be a proper family car.
Sure, that's not all on account of the cramped cabin of the car. The FC was built as more of a grand tourer, and I've managed to transport as many as three people inside for short trips. I'm 1,83 meters tall, and I can fit comfortably behind the wheel, whereas a Mazda MX-5 with stock seat rails was just too tight to handle. And having driven the FD3S, too, that's the only time I ever wished I wasn't so damn tall. But I'm trying to convince myself that with the factory exhaust and tune, the only inconvenience left would be the lack of cabin space.
Khyzyl Saleem, who is one of the most well-known automotive 3D artists of our time, also happens to own a Mazda RX-7. And so, it feels only natural that his latest project was based on that exact model. While Mazda never built a shooting brake version of the RX-7, that didn't stop Khyzyl from drawing one up. Sure, Greddy has had a rear-hatch for the RX-7 on offer before, but somehow that didn't look as natural as Khyzyl's work.
Photo: Khyzyl Saleem
What's even more interesting is the fact that Khyzyl wrapped this idea up as a '90s brochure advert. I get the feeling that if someone less of an RX-7 specialist looked at these photos, they would surely believe this is a genuine Mazda-built vehicle and not the work of a 3D artist. "Apparently, men think about it every second seconds" sounds like brilliant copyrighting to me, and that only works to get me more pumped up for this month's main event, a celebration for all RX-7 enthusiasts: 7's Day!
Being an RX-7 owner himself, Khyzyl was excited to work on this project, noting that "this was honestly so much fun to do." The photos will be used as part of a Meguiars campaign called "The Popping 90s", hence why Khyzyl used the company's "Gold Class Line" as an inspiration for the design. I imagine that at this point, where Khyzyl has managed to turn several of his projects into road-going vehicles, there should be at least one rotor head out there willing to bring the RX-7 Shooting brake to life.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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