Mazda RX-7 Has a Surprise Under Its Hood, Is Fearless When Facing Corvette ZR1

While this RX-7 is not the first in the world to get an LS swap, and is just one of many, that does not mean that the merits of the vehicle are to be ignored. Instead, the engine-swapped Japanese coupe is as beautiful today as it was in the early 1990s, and its low weight remains another advantage.

The owner of the RX-7, Jerry, bought the vehicle with the swap in place, so he does not have to fear the social stigma of having a rotary engine removed from a Mazda RX-7. Moreover, he acquired the vehicle several years ago, way before RX-7 prices were through the roof, as you might find today.

Hoonigan's This vs. That comparison would not have been complete without a worthy challenger. This time, the coupé in question had an LS from the factory. We are writing about a 2019 Corvette ZR1 with a manual transmission.

While the 1994 RX-7 that got an LS3 swap with LS7 internals has a Tremec T56 transmission that sends 500 horsepower to the wheels, as its owner claims. Meanwhile, the ZR1 Corvette comes with a seven-speed manual transmission, and it comes with an LT8 V8, but the latter came from the factory that way.

Only three percent of all the C7 production quota received the seven-speed manual, which means that about 2,000 vehicles left the factory in a three-pedal configuration.

As you can imagine, these will be more valuable in time, once the C7 Corvette becomes rare. However, do not imagine that they are not valuable today, as they are difficult to find, and there are no cheap examples to choose from.

We are not going to ruin the video below for you, so go ahead and guess if a lighter car with 500 whp can beat a slightly heavier car with an extra 250 horsepower to its name.