SEPTEMBER 2019 MOTORTREND.COM 39Finalist: 1980s
1986 Mazda RX-7
Import winner
defines fun to drive
With the Corvette the only
American car worth mentioning
in a handling discussion
back then, this car must’ve
been a bolt from the blue for
our editors. More than a few
modern sports coupes could
learn from the handling and
response of this car.
Today, we’d probably
complain about turbo lag as
the snail spools up and the
acceleration curve takes an
exponential path up the rev
range. Judged by ’80s stan-
dards, though, we called it “the
model of smooth, responsive,
usable power.” Having the
Saab 9000 Turbo in the same
test no doubt helped the
Mazda’s case.
It wasn’t an easy win,
though. The RX-7 won six out of
eight objective and subjec-
tive categories, but in almost
every case it just barely beat
out the Audi 5000CS Quattro.It took big hits in fuel economy
(the rotary engine’s ultimate
undoing), braking (because it
lacked ABS), and design (judges
said it looked like a Porsche 944
knockoff).
But all that went out the
window with a turn of the wheel.
So enjoyable was it to drive that
it prompted one editor to admit,
under guarantee of anonymity,
“This damn thing is a lot faster
than I am.” SEP
rior to the recent advent of
Radwood car shows, the
1980s got a bum rap as far
as automotive decades
go. With the malaise era
refusing to release its grip, a lot
of mediocrity was on display in
the first half of the decade.
Nonetheless, we found the
decade to offer a number
of significant winners that
represent the era well. 1986
was a banner year for the
award, with the revolutionary
Ford Taurus named Car of the
Year, but we thought we should
turn your attention instead
to the Import Car of the Year
winner, the second-generation
M azd a R X-7.
The first Import Car of the
Year was awarded to the 1970
Porsche 914, but the award was
then put on hiatus until 1976.
Company lore has it the open-
minded inclusion of imports
in Car of the Year was quickly
quashed after the Citroën SM
beat several American cars in
1972, leading to the eventual
reintroduction of a separate
Import Car of the Year award
as it became clear imports
were here to stay. (The two
awards were merged in 2000
to level the playing field.)
The RX-7 is especially
notable, as it’s the only
combustion-powered, piston-
less car to win a MotorTrend
award with its turbochargedrotary engine. (The fourth-gen
car would win again in 1993.)
More than that, it was, like the
Citroën SM, a technological
marvel. An all-new indepen-
dent rear suspension featured
a passive rear-steer geom-
etry that would change from
toe-out to toe-in as speeds
rose to increase agility. We
called it “surely the smartest
collection of ‘dumb’ linkages,
levers, and bushings this side of
the space shuttle.”
Also on the build sheet:
computer-controlled active
dampers, computer-controlled
variable power steering, and, of
course, a turbocharged engine
that prompted one judge to
write: “The RX-7 leaves like a
AA fueler [drag racing car], the
quintessential hot-rod.”
This 10th Anniversary
edition 1988 RX-7 Turbo from
Mazda’s private collection is
a revelation to drive today,
and it completely explains
the breathless tone we took
in announcing its win. The car
feels so light that you consider
getting out and lifting the
bumper just to see if you could
get two wheels off the ground.
The steering is pinpoint precise
and feels just as good today as
it did when we lauded it in ’86.
The body control is phenom-
enal, the whole car moving
exactly the way you predict in
every corner.