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The 1993–95 Mazda (FD) RX-7 Is a Legitimate Modern Collector Car
Born in the golden age of Japanese performance cars, the third and final generation (chassis code “FD”) Mazda RX-7 was also one of the best-looking cars made anywhere in the world in its day. It was a technical and engineering marvel, too, one that allowed Mazda to show off the fruits of its decades-long investments in rotary engines long after all other major manufacturers had shied away from them. The FD is a more complicated car and more difficult to live with than its humble predecessors, but it’s also a lot quicker, more interesting, and prettier. After an explosion in value for it and other ’90s Japanese greats, it has settled into its status as a modern collector car and looks set to stay there.
The Wankel rotary engine dates back to well before the Second World War, but it wasn’t until the 1950s and 1960s that the concept gained widespread attention in the car industry. Drawn by the rotary’s simpler, lighter, and more compact makeup compared to a conventional piston engine, manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic considered and experimented with the technology. German firm NSU was the only big Western carmaker to go all-in on rotaries, but early engine failures on its Wankel-powered Ro 80 sedan were disastrous enough that the company was absorbed by Volkswagen just two years after its introduction, in 1969.
Over in Japan, meanwhile, Mazda was another manufacturer to take an interest in rotary engines in the 1960s. Unlike everybody else, the company from Hiroshima just kept on investing in and improving the concept, until truly nailing it with the first RX-7 in 1978. While not without its quirks (apex seal failures, muscle car-like fuel economy), the RX-7 was one of the most popular performance cars of the 1980s, and in its first two generations, Mazda sold roughly three-quarters of a million RX-7s. Their 13B rotary engine was fun and interesting, the cars were built well and nice to look at, and they were affordable.
By the dawn of the 1990s, though, the Miata was in showrooms, and it was a smash hit. Mazda didn’t need another entry-level sports car. Japan’s bubble economy also hadn’t quite burst yet, and all the major Japanese carmakers were at work on exotic, tech-heavy high-performance cars as the decade got underway. So, for the third generation of its RX-7, Mazda took its rotary sports car upmarket.
Its engine, the 13B-REW, got significantly more complicated but also far punchier thanks to a pair of turbochargers that fed the engine sequentially. The first, smaller turbo boosted from 1800 rpm while the second, larger pre-spooled turbo came on at 4000 rpm to give the otherwise peaky rotary a wider torque curve. Peak performance was 255 hp and 271 lb-ft, certainly respectful for 1301 cc of displacement. It also screamed to an 8000 rpm redline, could push the 2800-pound RX-7 to 60 in about five seconds, and sat far enough back in the chassis for nearly perfect 50:50 weight distribution. A five-speed manual and limited-slip differential were standard.
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Mazda matched the exotic stuff under the hood with appropriately sexy looks. The first SA/FB RX-7s were understatedly handsome. The second-gen FB essentially aped the Porsche 944. But the curves, scoops, and occasional rear wing of the FD were a lot more attention-grabbing.
U.S. buyers got four basic trim levels. There was a base model with cloth seats, though cruise control and leather were optional. A Touring trim added leather and cruise control as well as a sunroof, fog lights, rear window wiper, and Bose Wave Stereo sound system. The Popular Equipment Package (also called Popular Equipment Group or PEG) added a rear wing to the Touring but deleted the rear wiper and fancy radio. At the top, there was the R1 (renamed R2 in 1994) that deleted the sunroof and cruise control but upgraded the springs and added Bilstein shocks, an additional oil cooler, front lip spoiler, rear wing, and suede seats.
Impressive as it all was, the third-gen RX-7 did not exactly fly out of showrooms. There was of course the rotary’s thirst for fuel (and oil), and in part thanks to unfavorable exchange rates it was an expensive proposition, especially for a car with the same badge as little 323s and MPV minivans. On its debut 1993 model year in North America, an RX-7 cost over 32 grand, and by 1995 had risen nearly 38 grand. That was about as much as a Corvette. The car also quickly gained a reputation for being fragile, and the lack of qualified mechanics to service their novel powertrains didn’t help matters, either.
In the end, Mazda only sold its final RX-7 here for the 1993–95 model years, and about 14,000 examples came to the U.S. Meanwhile, Mazda built the car until 2002, and briefly sold it under its Ẽfini (Anfini) sub-brand in Japan. Fewer than 70,000 FD RX-7s were built in total.
Once they became used cars, many FDs became track day toys or drift cars, and an FD’s role as a hero car early on in the Fast & Furious franchise led to its full embrace by tuner culture. Shopping for one 30 years after they were last sold here can therefore be an exercise in patience, as clean and (mostly) unmodified examples can be tough to locate. Tough enough, in fact, that right-hand drive examples from Japan have been trickling in for the last few years to satisfy demand for FDs.
Aside from the usual things like apex seals and other issues from improper maintenance of the rotary, heat in the engine bay has been a common issue with these cars—underhood temperatures can cause the vacuum- and pressure-operated hoses than run the sequential turbo system to harden and crack. Conversions to a single turbo is a common modification that adds some simplicity and removes the turbo control system that was so prone to failure. The result is more noticeable turbo lag, but many enthusiasts feel that the added reliability under the hood is worth it.
Given their quirks and their popularity among the tuner crowd, FDs weren’t particularly expensive during the 2000s and 2010s, and prices for them were about the same as they were for period rivals like the Nizzan 300ZX Turbo and Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4. During the late 2010s, though, the Mazda took off and has outpaced them both in the years since. Values in our price guide peaked during COVID and have settled since, but compared to 10 years ago the condition #2 (excellent) value for an FD is up 363.4 percent. Percentage-wise, that’s a considerably bigger increase than any of the other ’90s Japanese greats (Toyota Supra Mk IV Turbo, Acura NSX, Nissan 300ZX Turbo, Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4). And, just for reference, the value of a 1993–95 Corvette has barely kept up with inflation in that time.
At the time of this writing, a 1993–95 RX-7 carries a condition #2 (excellent) value of $57,000, and even more used condition #3 (good) cars aren’t cheap at $41,300. The best examples in the world in #1 condition are worth over 80 grand at the top, and rougher examples in #4 (fair) condition are worth $22,800. Add eight percent to each number for the R1 or R2 packages, and five percent for the Touring or PEG packages.
Since millennial and younger buyers have been driving interest in cars from the Radwood era and early 2000s, it’s no surprise that they’re most interested in RX-7s. Looking at buyer interest as measured by Hagerty insurance quotes, nearly 70 percent comes from millennial and Gen Z enthusiasts, even though these cohorts only make up 22 percent and 11 percent of the entire collector car market, respectively.
Despite its unconventional engine, the FD RX-7 has pretty much all the conventional things that make a car valuable and collectible long term. It’s very nice to look at. The engineering behind it is interesting. It’s rewarding to drive. It’s relatively scarce. It’s culturally relevant. It has racing connections. All of that helped boost prices to new heights a few years ago and will help keep enthusiasts’ interest in these beautiful, racy rotaries for the foreseeable future.
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I love these cars but it takes different mindset when it comes to maintenance. That was the cars biggest problem when they were new. I remember looking at used ones in 20202 and at one spot none of the cars were on their original engine. They were on #2 or #3 which means the owners did not know how to do rotary maintenance. Today when I see one they are half the time stuffed with an LS V8 under the hood. Great cars but do your research on the car before you buy one.
👍 What a well-sorted platform, though, eh? For a balanced, front-engine/RWD, mass-produced car, it was like nothing else on the planet, besides maybe the Porsche 944/968, or even the FWD-based platform Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 (all of which similarly expired, even with ‘conventional’ reciprocating piston engine technology).
I think the FD could have endured through to today, if it had a conventional flat-4 (boxer) piston engine, instead of a rotary, and possibly even become a revered milestone in automotive history, rather than fondly be relegated to an interesting footnote.
I wonder how much the distressing, escalating MSRP was due to Mazda’s desperate attempts to recoup their losses expended, over decades of rotary-engine research & development.
To me, besides the general diminishing environment of the struggling enthusiast/sports car market of that era, the beautifully-engineered FD platform was just another unfortunate victim of misguided corporate initiatives, attempting to extol and celebrate their bold, unique technological prowess of mass-produced rotary engine technologies, which, IMHO, eventually and ironically became directly responsible for the demise of the RX-7 (& -8 as well). It was something no other automotive manufacturer even dared to venture (beyond conceptual efforts).
To inflict the outstanding FD platform, with an unorthodox engine, which, decades later, remains a technological challenge, and then, expect a premium to be paid for participation, was simply unfortunate.
I’m a ’93 FD owner. I have owned two of them, the first with the 13B-REW motor and my current one with a GM LS3 crate motor with an upgraded cam and completely new build including the 8.8 rear end, Eaton Tru Trac LSD, McLeod twin disk clutch, Ohlin suspension and too many other things to mention. Still, from the outside the car looks completely stock (except wheels and lowered slightly).
Just let me say that I have always loved the way these cars looked, I believe their exterior design (and motor) were truly remarkable and have stood the test of time. At shows I have many folks who walk right by many other beautiful cars just to snap some pics and talk about their excitement at seeing one of these since they are pretty scarce these days.
My first FD, I was not the original owner and I could never vouch for the maintenance regime that was performed before I owned it. After I purchased it I did everything I possibly could to maintain and keep it on the road. It was fun to drive no doubt, but it was a losing battle and an extreme money pit. I like to reliably drive a car, attend shows, etc…all of which became virtually impossible due to constant problems that I encountered keeping it running. After a couple of years I sold it at quite a loss and decided to go for much more reliability and power with an LS Swap.
I found a car whose owner had obviously had similar problems with his engine but whose condition was otherwise excellent. The build and everything that went with it wasn’t cheap but I don’t regret doing what I did one bit. I can jump in now, fire it up and go where I want reliably with twice the hp and torque of what I once had. And the sound….turns heads everywhere I go.
I do occasionally get some of the purist fan comments at shows about ruining the ‘soul’ of the car with the LS swap, but I certainly don’t regret it. For those of that mindset, more power to you, the original motors certainly were revolutionary for their time. But my main attraction to the car is it’s exterior looks along with it’s reliability since the swap.
It’s a beautiful, well known and popular car no matter what’s under the hood.
That is the type of car I walk right by at a car show.
Had a ‘93 Touring. Most beautiful car I’ve ever owned. Absolute joy to drive. Pain in the ass to own—needed special coolant, wouldn’t start next time if you didn’t fully warm it up, needed turbo timer to cool down—the list goes on.
Mine overheated (stuck thermostat) coming out of the Yosemite valley. Couldn’t get off the winding road safely in time to save blowing the apex seals. Had to tow it back to silicon valley. Had engine rebuilt, was fine after that.
Sold it with 65k miles. Purchaser spun it on the freeway on ramp all the way across and hit the center guard rail. Me in passenger seat. I took it to the body shop. He picked it up…..
As the article says, 8’d own another, but need a good local mechanic.
Oops… I’d own another….
Beautiful then, beautiful now.