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Mazda RX-7 Le Mans Brings Back the Rotary Engine in Detailed Rendering

While Mazda is bringing back the Wankel engine as a range extender, aficionados wish to see the rotary unit delivering power straight to the wheels. And in an age when more and more carmakers commit to an all-electric future, seeing the Wankel return has become a job for digital artists. The rendering we have here certainly makes for a tempting proposal.
Mazda RX-7 Le Mans rendering 7 photos
Photo: dorifuto_visuals/instagram
Mazda RX-7 Le Mans renderingMazda RX-7 Le Mans renderingMazda RX-7 Le Mans renderingMazda RX-7 Le Mans renderingMazda RX-7 Le Mans renderingMazda RX-7 Le Mans rendering
As those of you who follow our Speed Shot tales know, we get to enjoy RX-7 digital builds on a regular basis—with the final FD generation of the sports car having become a cult car, that pathway is only natural. Nevertheless, the work we have here stands out, as it proposes an RX-7 revival that not only goes past the street car level, but targets the crown jewel of endurance racing, namely the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At first, the dream of digital label dorifuto_visuals might seem on the wild side because it is! After all, we're talking about a sports car that was retired almost two decades ago, making a comeback as an endurance racing effort. Then again, technically speaking, with this part of the motorsport realm going through the most important rule change in decades, anything is possible.

To be more precise, this May will see the World Endurance Championship introduce the Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class to replace the LMP1 tier (the two types of machines will be allowed to run together for this season only), with the aim being to reduce costs and convince other automakers to join Toyota.

Following multiple updates, the rules now allow two main forms of hypercars. The first involve custom circuit prototypes, a class that will see the Japanese automaker joined by American boutique carmaker Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, with entries from Peugeot and Ferrari set to arrive later on.

As for the second, and this is where things are linked to the rendering sitting before us, race cars based on road-going hypercars can also join the party, even though Aston Martin axing plans to race the Valkyrie to focus on F1 instead has left this side of the table empty.

No, Mazda hasn't announced any intentions to join this club, and even if it did so, bringing back a 1990s sports car body for its contender wouldn't make too much sense from a commercial standpoint. But this proposal resonates so deeply with the rotary fan base that the sheer thought is enough of a reason to rejoice.

Zooming in on the machine itself, most of the body panels have been reworked, with aerodynamics being the keyword here.

Sure, the greenhouse still brings a strong FD RX-7 identity, even though the rear window is now a solid panel. And we can say the same about the now-LED rear light cluster.

The racing treatment ranges from the specific front end, lighting included, to the super-sized widebody, removing the main trunk area, and the mandatory super-sized wing—as we said, this is one hell of an imagination exercise.

"Fully thought out and functioning aero has been applied, and as you can see, it changed the appearance of the car quite a bit," dorifuto_visuals explains in the Instagram post below.

Spending just a bit of extra time gazing at the creation reveals the complexity of the work; even the livery is a well-planned move, with it referencing iconic battle colors associated with Japanese aftermarket developers RE Amemiya and Renown.

Then there's the power; in accordance with the current regulations of the series, which allow a hybrid setup, the Wankel engine, which sits in the middle, works with an electric motor powering the front axle.

Oh, and just in case you wish to see this RX-7 Le Mans racer impressing the stopwatch on the Circuit de la Sarthe, the track that hosts the famous endurance race, the rendering has you covered via a scene involving the Tertre Rouge corner.


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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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