It’s not exactly what I would chose as an ideal pizza delivery vehicle, but I’m glad someone does. And it’s quite the counterpart to the 1971 Galaxie I shot delivering Domino’s too. It’s actually been a while since I’ve seen a gen2 RX-7 of any kind; they seem to have rather suddenly become scarce on the ground. In fact, I’m quite sure there’s more gen 1 RX-7s around than these. But there it was, just a couple of blocks from my house. And the driver had just gotten in, so we were treated to the sound of it taking off, briskly.
The distinctive brrrrrraaapppp, brrrrrraaapppp, brrrrrraaapppp of the rotary’s exhaust reminded me of how rarely one hears it anymore on the street. In LA in the late 70s and early-mid 80s, it was very common then. It’s not exactly the most soul-stirring exhaust sound, as it’s a wee bit tinny, lacking some of that angry musicality of a good-running two-stroke, which it somewhat resembles. But it’s distinctive, and it beats the alternative: All too often nothing…or the occasional bleating of a kid’s Honda with a giant fartcan. Well yes, there are the noisy diesel pickups, and of course the nice throaty rumble of gas V8 trucks and SUVs. But the Mazda’s exhaust music is utterly distinctive. And fading away…
1st gen, yes. 2nd gen, not missed much, but let’s keep it in the context of other cars of that era. They stack up fairly well.
For the exhaust note these days, every time I walk out to my garage and start my 2012 Abarth brings a _____ eatin’ grin. Snap, crackle, pop!
Amen. One of the reasons I was so glad I got a ’13 Abarth rather than a new Sport.
When I worked in the jewelry store from 86-94, the bosses daughter had a early (I think 80) RX7. One time he drove me to a repair shop it was at having something done to it and I drove it back. Fun car. I enjoyed the drive. But thats all I remember.
The ideal pizza delivery vehicle: Given the reliability of the Wankel, I imagine the car works for 30 minutes or less at a time. I worked on the Mazda account for many years, and visited their R&D facility several times. A large workroom there was filled with rotary engines that had to be replaced at Mazda’s expense due to engine failure. The rotary is great idea on paper, but not so much in the real world.
In the early to mid ’70’s the rotary engine Mazda’s had thermal reactors that would sometimes backfire after they were turned off, sounded like gunfire in the parking lot. Made a few people jump.
I believe that is one of Dominoes battery powered roof top lights which look neat up close.
Not the most fuel efficient choice for delivery driving. But I bet he enjoys his job.
A 1980 RX7 (first gen?) was the first new car my wife (to be) and I bought. Pre-kids of course. What a blast we had in that white with maroon interior rice-rocket. It had an enormous trunk under the hatch so we piled all our camping gear in and cruised the interior of beautiful British Columbia. When our first born arrived in 1984 the RX7 had to go – no room for a car seat. So we sold it and bought our second new car – a 1984 Honda Civic which served us well for over 16 years until that very same first born totaled the Civic in a minor collision (an insurance write-off). Like the RX7, that Honda was another great car for the times.
Not sure if you can hear it, because of the Wankel blender under the hood, or the omitted catalytic converter, supposedly meant to give it more power.
Is that kid making any money at all in his job? Between fuel mileage and maintenance costs, I have a funny feeling he’d be equally well off with no car and completely unemployed.
Well he’s probably not putting much aside in savings. But given the choice between no job/no car or menial job/RX-7, I think I’d choose the latter too.
Yes you tell when one of those was around, the exhaust was very distinct sounding
These can be found very cheaply. The second-gen RX-7 has a very cheap feeling interior for a high-buck Japanese car of the era, which is a turn off, but they’re great to drive and I personally enjoy the generic ’80s sportscar styling. If you drive the snot out of them, like any self-respecting delivery driver should, rotaries do well. Too bad you’ll be wasting all yr tips on gas.