A legitimate model with a pedigree
Ms. “Emu”, a designer who creates beautiful dresses for ballroom dancing and other events, has a Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (FD3S). The beautiful snow-white colored body with pearlescent paint is a limited edition Type RZ and is still in beautiful condition more than 20 years after its release. What was the story behind Ms. Emu’s choice of this beloved car?
She had zero sports car experience in the past
“I found out about the Mazda RX-7 when I read the ‘Initial D’ comic and was intrigued by how cool it was.”
Ms. “Emu” says. Her current car is a snow-white Mazda FD3S RX-7 Type RZ. This is the final model in the RX-7 series, which was regarded as the pinnacle of evolution among the numerous RX-7 models. And the Type RZ is a legitimate model that carries on the Seven’s driving pedigree, with carbon-kevlar full-bucket seats in the factory seats.
This RX-7 Type RZ was produced in extremely small numbers, with only 175 units produced, making it a rare car. But for her, it didn’t really matter that it was a final or limited edition model.
“My car history so far is Mitsubishi Colt, Honda Fit, and Lexus.”
She had zero sports car experience in the past, but she suddenly felt the urge to drive a car that was fun to drive, and set about purchasing an RX-7, which she had been interested in for some time. However, when she started to think about buying one, she realized that her license was AT-only. She went to the Driver’s license center to have her AT license removed, and the process of getting her MT license was surprisingly easy: she only had to undergo a few hours of technical tests. She passed with flying colors, and on the same day, she was issued with her MT license.
The search for her car began by consulting a friend who knows a lot about rotary cars and looking at used cars at a shop. Then, when she saw her current car at the shop she went to with her friend, she fell in love at first sight. She decided to buy it that day.
It was a rare car, limited to 175 units
The deciding factor in the purchase was that the body color was beautiful white, which she liked. Other than that, she didn’t think too much about it, she didn’t know what year, model, etc., she just intuitively thought this car was nice. After deciding to buy the car, she was surprised that this RX-t was the last production model, Type 6, and that it was a rare car with a limited run of 175 units.
“I didn’t even know there were limited edition RX-7s to begin with. However, it didn’t change my mind that no matter which RX-7 I bought, I would cherish and continue to drive it.”
She told us how she was feeling at the time.
Special charm not found in other cars
She has now owned the car for six years. During that time, it has not been uneventful, and she has been in the care of a rotary shop several times, experienced engine malfunctions, suspension problems, and so on. However, she says that as the car is already more than 20 years old, it is inevitable that problems will occur.
“More than that, the combination of the only beautiful style and the rotary engine has a special charm that no other car has. My goal now is to drive it for many years to come.”
As you can see from the photos, Ms. Emu’s style is to enjoy the car in basically stock form. For this reason, she is particular about using genuine parts. Currently, it is difficult to obtain such genuine parts, and the number of items in good condition is decreasing, which is a point of concern.
“I want to keep my car sparkling and beautiful forever.”
As she says, aftermarket parts can cover this, but she avoids customization as much as possible and hopes to keep her precious final model in its original, beautiful condition.
translated by DeepL