NAME: (RE Amemiya AMEMIYA ASPARADRINK RX7)
PICTURES:
“A beautiful, fighting machine built by RE Amemiya, the definitive expert of the FD platform.”
As one of the foremost tuners of rotary engines, RE Amemiya, has a solid reputation for taking Mazda’s cars and making them into exotic-devouring supercars. The company entered the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) with an FD3S RX-7 in 1995, waging war in the GT300 class, against many factory teams, but RE Amemiya proved to be a giant-killer, as it consistently placed at the top of the pack.
In 2004, the company introduced a new monocoque race car and remained competitive up to the last round that year, finishing the series in 2nd place. Part of its success was due to a new powerplant. RE Amemiya’s race cars were usually powered by a 13B engine, but it made the switch to a 20B peripheral-port 3-rotor. The air-intake restrictor mandated by JGTC regulations proved to be especially brutal for the rotary engine, characterized by a lack of low-end torque with most of its power coming at the high end of the rpm spectrum. RE Amemiya chose a tuning direction that lowered the torque band and focused on the middle-rev range.
Also, the new car had a shorter wheelbase, which improved its cornering prowess. Also, body height was significantly lowered, and the front and rear body paneling was remodeled, greatly improving aerodynamics.
The revived RX-7 grabbed pole position in the second race of the season. But because of its continued prowess, it was laden with weight handicaps, and failed to win the championship. Still, everyone who saw the car race knew how fast it truly was.
PRICE
295,999
DRIVETRAIN
FR
ENGINE
GT300-spec RE Amemiya 20B
MAX POWER
295 BHP
MAX TORQUE
238.68 lb-ft
TOP SPEED
184 mph (296 km/h)
WEIGHT
1,100 kg (2,400 lb)
POWER/WEIGHT RATIO
3.73 kg (8.2 lb) per horsepower