1983 Mazda RX-7 GT Savana Turbo ... (SOLD)

Now for sale, a rare and highly desirable RX-7 GT Turbo Japanese import. For sale in our Sydney Showroom. Offers invited over $50,000.

Back in 1983 if you were looking for a front engined sports car but you didn't have Porsche 944 money, the answer was the sexy Japanese built Mazda RX-7. Powered by a two-rotor version of Dr. Felix Wankel's rotary engine, the RX-7's 1.1-litre mill (designated 12A) produced 100 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque. That was enough to push its 2350 pounds to 60 mph in less than 10 seconds, acceptable for the day. The engine was extremely light and compact, allowing it to be mounted behind the front axle, which contributed to the 50/50 weight distribution. Moreover, the rotary engine was so uniquely smooth as it spun up, an electric buzzer was installed to warn drivers of blasting straight through the 7000-rpm redline.

Motor Trend magazine ran a comparison test of a standard RX-7, Nissan 280ZX, and Toyota Supra. Though the Mazda's meager power compared with the competition landed it in last place by the performance numbers, the RX-7 was praised as the best-handing, best-steering, most fun-to-drive, and purest sports car of the group. All it needed was more power.

So the engineers at Mazda bolted a turbocharger to the top end RX-7’s 12A engine. This was introduced in Japan in September 1983 and produced just over 163hp at 6,500rpm. A new “Impact Turbo” was designed by Mazda to deal with the different exhaust gas characteristics of a rotary engine. Both rotor vanes of the turbine were redesigned and made smaller. The turbine in the new design had a twenty percent higher speed than a turbo used for a conventional engine.

And boy did she go. Rare in Australia, this Japanese import GT Turbo RX-7 is now for sale and is presented in as new condition having been closed door repainted in late 2021 in factory Custom Silver Metallic. This example of the factory built GT Turbo RX-7 is otherwise totally original and unmolested and has covered a genuine log booked 161,697 km from new and comes with the dealer folder, manuals, two sets of keys and the Australian import paperwork.

The interior of the RX-7 GT Turbo continues the uniqueness of the model with body hugging sports Recaro seats and there is even a plaque to celebrate Mazda's involvement in the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans Endurance race that took place on 18 and 19 June 1983. It was also the fourth round of both the World Endurance Championship and European Endurance Championship. And you guessed it, Mazda's were mixing it with Porsche 956s, BMW M88s, Aston Martins and Ford Cosworths.

One of the most successful models ever sold, the first generation RX-7 is certainly now a sought-after collector car and the GT Turbo represents one of the rarest and most desired of the model.

In our Sydney showroom for your private inspection. Offers invited over $50,000. (Ref: 5886)

We are happy to arrange a video inspection of the car using WhatsApp. Please call for more details and note Door to Door enclosed transport is available anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.

If you have a quality muscle or classic car you wish to list or have valued please give us a call at AMCS. Our team is passionate about the cars we sell and we will be delighted to assist you in achieving an excellent sales result