Back to the '90s! Totally ORIGINAL Mazda RX-7 FD Retro Review | Henry Catchpole - The Driver's Seat
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- In the latest episode of The Driver’s Seat with Henry Catchpole, we immerse ourselves in the world of the FD (third) generation Mazda RX-7. Henry gets behind the wheel of a very rare, completely original RX-7 that was delivered to the UK 30 years ago. Since then it has done less than 30,000 miles!
To get himself in the ‘90s mood, Catchpole starts at the fabulous Pixel Bunker in Milton Keynes to play some original arcade driving games, such as Ridge Racer. Then it’s a midnight drive to find an even rarer RX-7 - one with a Liberty Walk body kit. The famous Japanese company, founded by Wataru Kato in the mid ’90s, has gained a huge worldwide following, but this is the first Liberty Walk RX-7 in Europe. It looks spectacular with its front end (and livery) that is very reminiscent of a Porsche 935.
Back to the standard car; Catchpole investigates the chassis dynamics and Wankel Rotary engine, both of which prove surprising in their very modern feel. The turbocharged 13B-REW rotary engine is a particular surprise after the much thinner delivery of the more modern but naturally-aspirated RX-8.
The final piece of the jigsaw was to immerse the stock RX-7 in some broader Japanese car culture and there was no better place than at one of Caffeine and Machine’s Daikoku evenings. Held at both The Hill and The Bowl venues they are always well attended and the sheer variety of machinery that turns up is extraordinary. A little bit of a Tokyo parking lot in middle England!
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All hail the 90s!
Those lines are just exquisite and unforgettable.
The FD RX-7 is definitely in the top ten of most beautiful sports cars ever.
Also top ten most unreliable ones too :)
I've always thought they look like the 1964 version of the Ferrari 250GT0. Styling doesn't get a lot better.
The rotary engine had some really interesting aspects. If they had ever figured out how to make it work long-term, it would have been an interesting alternative.
And the second gen looks so much better than the 944 Porsche that everyone thinks is a superior vehicle but it's definitely not. Maybe a 928 but that's like comparing a Carrera to a GT2.
@@High_Octane_Hero Well, there's that.
It sure is. Certainly the best of its competitors in the day. I don't know why manufacturers can't make cars as pretty as this one.
Love what Hagerty has been doing for the automotive community. Reviews by Henry and Jason are hands down my favorites and can’t forget about Hyphen and the Carmudgeon. This is all so good, please don’t stop tingling our petrol nerve for ultimate enjoyment! 🙌🏼
I am outside the US and Hagerty to me is a UA-cam channel and not an insurance company
FD owner here. Stock with minor upgrades is the best. No ridiculous kits needed.
Genuinely the best looking car of all time
Yeah most exterior mods make them look worse
A good sign and a good reminder that no, the design is not overrated@@yucannthahvitt
You get rid of the air pump ?
Rear arches need to be modified if somebody intends to drive little faster, it will rub like hell as stock.
my dad had a red one of these, it was like a fkn spaceship when i was younger and it still looks amazing today
The FD rx7 body lines look so timeless!
Yep timeless, early 90s.
Hope you all enjoy this. A couple of big thank yous to The Pixel Bunker, in Milton Keynes, and Caffeine and Machine for helping us with the film - both well worth a visit.
Thanks Henry, great video. More like this please of Japanese legends! NSX next?
@@cricket_v8 Would love an excuse to drive an NSX again!
I owned a 1981 RX7, and traded that in on a 1984 Rx7. Loved those cars. Like Henry, I didn't fit in it very well (seat leaned back for headroom, then seat closer to the wheel to reach it, which meant knees beside the wheel) but that seemed like a small price to pay. I'd like to build a Factory Five hot rod - the benchmark would be to emulate the basic simple driver's car that the RX7 was.
According to Japanese Wikipedia, "X" of "RX" signified "future", not "export". In fact, RX-7 had always been called RX-7 in Japan as well (the 1st and 2nd gens were called "Savannah RX-7").
Enjoy this? Enjoy this?? Man I'm unzipping my pants for this! Hahaha 90s, JDMs, Henry - what an amazing combo!
Seeing my fave journalist in my fave car really puts a smile on my face, thank you Henry. Not only have you put into words how beautifully the FD rotates, you captured it in video at 4:35 - the way that, when pushed, it just brings all four tyres equally to the optimum slip angle is delicious. Trail-braking is also highly effective, and generally the closer you get to the limit the more reactive the car becomes to your inputs. I loved the decade I had in mine (Factory 17"s, stock suspension, stock body, stock sequential turbos but wound up a bit), they really are quite special things, with a focus and purity that's almost exotic.
One of the best looking cars ever made. Not a line out of place, perfect proportions. Like a pebble rounded by water over millenia, sporty yet friendly. Event the pop-ups are perfectly sized and shaped. Masterclass in design.
I've had three FDs, still have two (a track car and an OEM+ build) and it's the car I just keep coming back to. They look and feel exotic and exciting in ways few other cars that are still middle class-attainable do.
I understand I've owned 3 f3 turbo'2s and a few fc gxl's
The FD is one of my bucket list cars. I have owned an FC and loved it. I will own one of these one day.
one of my absolute dream cars..
stock and in black.. i would drive countless hours at night and with open window...
Have owned my stock UK FD for over 20 years. Henry's review is spot on. Also had a stock FC for 10 years and both have been extremely reliable. Look after them and they will look after you.
The FD continues to get better with age. A sublime design, visually and mechanically. I was autocrossing my Neon ACR in the late 90s and I'll never forget watching FD RX-7s lapping the course with such controlled fury...
Love the FD design, so iconic!
I purchased a 3rd RX7 6 months ago for a small fortune and i dont regret it. Nothing makes me smile more than taking for a hard drive
That intro gave me chills! Loving it! keep on giving Henry all you got Hagerty
All these recent videos coming up of the rx7 is just so perfect. I just bought my third rx7 after years apart from my 2nd one...its good to be back!
I had a 1993 RX7 R1. I was way too poor and naïve to own this car when I did, but what a fun car. It was at the height of the Fast and Furious craze, and EVERYONE wanted to talk about my car everywhere I went. I miss the car culture that cars like this had.
Still one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Thank you for the lovely review Henry !!!
Love this, do more japanese legends like this!
I'm on my sixth RX-7-five FCs and one FD. I currently still own an '88 Turbo FC and a '93 FD. There aren't many cars out there that tickle my pickle like these do!
I got my FD in 1998 with 5K miles on it. I still have it, but I've added about 180K miles. The engine has been rebuilt on it, but it's been surprisingly trouble free. It is nearly stock with a few reliability mods like removing the precat for heat and an aluminum AST. It ahs enough power stock for plenty of fun and the balance and steering is glorious. Wonderful car. I love it.
Rotary experimental MAN!! not Rotary export....😢
Was just about to say the same thing.
Great... here come the Redditors.
If X is for experimental, then please explain:
MX-5, MX-6, CX-3, CX-4, CX-5, CX-8, CX-9, CX-30, CX-50, CX-60, CX-70, CX-80, CX-90
@NovaResource not the same x 😄
@@NovaResource The same letter can mean different things in different initialisms lol what a low-IQ reply.
Also the X in MX5 and MX6 both stand for "Experimental"
I have yet to see a LW kit make a car look better than the original let alone PERFORM better. I'm firmly in the sacrilege camp. Can't see how the stock FD can be improved with bolt-on fiberglass.
Thanks for bringing this to us Henry, pleasure as always.
A buddy had a nonturbo one years ago. I loved, truly loved driving that car! It was so tactile in it's operation. Loved the backdoors. It was just sublime!
Love this, I would love to see some more retro reviews for other JDM Legents like the Supra, 300zx, 3000GT, and Skylines
I had a '94 FD for a couple years in the 2000's and it was a fantastic car. Completely impractical as a daily driver in the Midwest, though, and the fragile apex seals make it a ticking time bomb of costly engine repair after 60k miles. But, I wish I could have afforded to stick it in storage at least. I've owned several other high performance cars and it is still my favorite.
RX-7s occupy a place very close to heart for me. I've owned a first gen for several years now and even though it put me through all the old car heartaches, I never managed to let it go. It's such an unique experience to drive this old, carburetted low-torque and high reving machine.
Design aged better than any modern fugly bmw will
That may well be true.
But a lot of those "ugly" bmws will age better then most of their modern rivals . I remember criticism for the e60 5 series and e62 6er, the e9x wasn't well received and the a series was ridiculed.
But they all look better than their rivals today. It's just what BMW do.
And, as an owner of an F83 and previously 2 e46s, the F8x is a better looking car to me.
Automotive crash regulation has changed a lot. Unfair comparison.
@@Loukanopoulos no, you can make good looking cars in the Modern era- see Mazda 3. ND MIata too
even Lucid being a new kid on the block, made a fantastic EV sedan on their first try. what did BMW do? give us the iX then the equally cumbersome G60 5 series
@@matthewnicholas6365 nobody likes e60's or same era seven series. F looks good though.
@ShaiyanHossain Part of the regulation problem is the height from the bonnet over the engine to protect pedestrians heads when they get ran over.
EVs don't have engines below the bonnet so they don't have the same design restrictions ICE vehicles do.
WHY IS THIS SO SHORT😭😭 CANT GET ENOUGH OF IT great vid btw!as always
Henry and Mazda RX-7 two icons in one video. RX-7 is just legendary nameplate and tunners god car😊😊.
Mazda should be making sports 2 seater coupe now days to.😊
Awesome video keep it up 🤟
FD is undoubtedly one of the best looking cars ever manufactured, Stunning Machine.
My dream car in the 90s. Came close to upgrading my Eclipse GS-T, test drove a few, but, alas, never pulled the trigger! I test drove one that a middle aged pilot owned and was selling. I opened the glove box and his teenage daughter had left a bottle of Cisco in there.🤣
Great video. Well-written and likewise executed and performed. More of it. Henry's the perfect narrator and presence on screen. Greetings from Sicily!
Back when these first came out, I was working at a hotel in the suburbs of Detroit, and a female executive from Mazda checked into our hotel late on a Sunday evening. She told me to tell her when I saw her next what I thought of the car, needless to say, I went for a one hell of a ride! I was sliding and drifting around corners even before I knew that that’s what I was doing and laughing my ass off! It was late at night, but it seems like everybody was checking out the car. Only when I returned to the hotel, Did I realize in my hast, I had left the hatchback open. Such a cool, smooth and light car.
This might be the first ultra widescreen video I've watched since getting a really wide monitor. Blows me away how cool it is!
Beautiful example inside and out!
RX7 FD in stock, LOVELY CAR ❤
I’ve had a 95 FD for about a decade now and other than apex seals and routine maintenance that’s expected from a rotary I’ve never had any issues. It also doesn’t have an extreme level of mods, just a Turbo XS RFL bov, did the sequential to single turbo conversion about 65k miles ago along with a 5 row GREDDY FMIC, AEM fuel rails, HKS intake, HKS catback, GREDDY I/C plumbing and boost controller and a few other odds and ends. It makes 375 WHP/320LBs/TQ @ 18 PSI on 93. It’s got more than enough power for me personally and I take it to the track in Palmer that’s about 20 mins from my house all spring and summer and even on those hot summer days it’s never failed.
Absolutely gorgeous. They haven’t aged a day. Still look fantastic in 2024.
This car is just exceptionally beautiful and one of the very few that looks great with popup headlights down *and* up.
amazing video and car thank you hagerty, the 90s were the best decade for cars
Thoroughly enjoyable watch, thank you.
Always right on point Henry, top film making!
Another outstanding review. One of the best looking cars ever designed.
Now you're speaking my language Mr C! I like the Astons etc but this is where its at. Like some one else has said, more 90's legends please. Awesome presentation as always, thank you 👍
I know looks are subjective, but the FD RX7 is objectively the best looking car of all time
This is seriously one of the comments of all time.
It's just a C5 Corvette that's been melted in a couple of places.
@@nunyabusiness896C5 came out 5 years after the FD tho. I bet the C5 wouldn’t look half as good as it did if the FD didn’t exist.
Great video. For someone that knows a lot about these cars and owned one for over ten years I t shows that you really have been doing your research. Just wish the video was longer.
They still look beautiful and don't age,super colour to.💯👌🏻
Such a beautiful unspoilt car. So much more special than the Rx-8 of which I had 2 but never totally glued with.
02:56 No, it's not just you Henry! I have a 90s Toyota Corona, New Zealand assembled, and the indicator/headlight control is indeed a pleasure to use, as is the wiper control, heater controls, Manual Gearbox, clutch, window winders and really, everything mechanical and tactile and well designed and a delight to use and own!
Love my '02. Don't intend to sell unless it's a life or death matter. One of the all time greats.
Lovely review of what is probably my all time favourite car.
As a former FC owner, this was my dream.
That car is a beauty. The Supra, NSX, and the Skyline, complete the Japanese car hall of fame.
The FD should have been fitted with 245 tires because even in stock form, it was hard to keep the power down on the road. It's one of the best driver's car ever made and also one of the best looking car ever made. Even today it does not took dated. A very timeless design. Very exciting to drive because of it's light weight which makes it seem more powerful than it is. More fun and capable than my 993, e30 m3, s2000 and boxster.
Mazda obviously agreed, since later cars came with 235/45 front, 255/40 rear R17s from the factory (plus bigger brakes)
Always wanted to see an RX-7 but they're so rare, especially in Scotland, that I never have. Then I seen a picture of one next to another car and realised just how small it is. I'm surprised that you were able to fit in enough to drive it, but you didn't look that comfortable either.
Another awesome video.
Love the Ridge Racer call backs
My favorite car is my sw20...nothing like it, but the fd is quite simply, hands down, one of the most gorgeous cars ever made.
Popup headlights, and everything is right. Amazing car !
Omg. Oh man. What an epic ride
Time to do all 90s jdm legends!
Still look fresh today…even with the pop up headlights.
I bought an Import when I was 21. It was a fantastic car.
I almost bought a low mile used FD RX-7 in the year 2000 from a dealership. The test drive is memorable to this day. I went with something else but a part of me always wished I had gone for the rotary.
What’s you go with instead?
Mazda RX7… I love these Japanese Porsche’s ❤
It's ALSO a very similar colour to the Amazona Green on my Honda 1300 Pan-European, looks absolutely magical under good sunlight. Anywhere between near-black in shadow through blue through dark green.
One of these would definitely have a place in my 10-car dream garage. It would also push for a spot in my five-car dream garage.
LW/RWB are shocking. We need to stop hyping them up.
As usual, Hagerty/Henry putting out high quality content!
love the rear wiper, always!
Mazda RX7's and Ford mustangs are my life!
The FD RX7 has to be one of the best exterior automotive designs in recent history. There's a reason that you can see an FD RX7 on so many different bottles of spray wax, and other automotive supplies that feature a "beautiful" car.
The 90’s were literally the best time to be alive.
So cool to see C&M it’s a great venue
I had an 84, 88 and 91. Cadillac tried with excess doors for replacing the apex seals in a failed attempt with the rotary. If yours refuses to start pull start to save the battery. Remember the1991 La Mans winner! Love the Mazda Rotary. ZOOM, ZOOM!
what a fantastic film 🫡
RX8 PZ in Grey - the FD my dream car - unmolested, somehow I will get one!
Love the RX7 FD. Haven't seen one in a quite some time. I'd keep mine stock or very close to stock, but to each his own.
Gorgeous cars. The later years of the RX-8 brought in more reliability with better seals, but the RX-7 styling is stunning.
Great, thank you for sharing
This is gonna be sooo good 😁
FD's were rare everywhere compared to earlier models, but yes good to see one that's not been given the tacky accessory treatment.
Nissan 200SX/300ZX anyone? Love Henry's reviews 👍
Absolutely. the latter in particular🎉
Ah the NFSU2 memories...
Engine: stock.
ECU: removed the top speed limiter, added fuel pressure regulator.
Transmission: all the way to the extreme package.
Suspension: all the way to the extreme package.
Nitrous: none.
Tyres: extreme.
Brakes: all the way to the extreme package.
Weight reduction: all the way to the extreme package.
Turbo: stock.
Suspension tuning: lowest ride height, stiffest springs, default shocks, softened the sway bars down to about 6/10, fastest rack.
Gearing (approximate): 70Km/h for 1st, 100 for 2nd, 135 for 3rd, 175 for 4th, 220 for 5th, 270 for 6th
Aerodynamics: 10 front/5 rear
Tyres: 10 front/9,1 rear
Brakes: slightest rearward setting (-0,01 iirc)
ECU (approximate): 320Nm at 6000rpm, 300bhp at 7500rpm (minimised first column, smooth progression)
Other cars at like 500bhp were slower than this.
I think Hendy liked the pop-up lights :D
Masterfully done. Thank you for this early Christmas gift. Merry Christmas everyone!
I used to own an FC, I still miss it.
dream car/nightmare engine combo
if you are a person who owns one and you swapped a piston engine into it you've ruined it. yes you've made it more reliable and it's probably more powerful but that's not the point. rx7 is THE rotary car, why would you take something unique and turn it into a boring regular car?
Its also beautiful, has great handling and has space for a larger engine 🤷🏽♂️
This comment usually comes from people who have never owned an FD. I'm a big rotary guy and I've had a 13B FD and currently own an LS1 FD and they are both fantastic. The LS FD is amazing. A real car person would drive both and love both for different reasons. I love my swapped FD.
that FD was a clapped out drift car before it was resurrected into the LBWK showcar. They kept the SR20 that was found and ran with the theme. I have a mate who knows the car's story better, perhaps he could tell how it ended up with an SR20, but one would assume that drift cars have a really hard life and at some point they just needed a reliable powertrain that does the job.
May be it was the only alternative to the scrappers
or just let people do what they want with their own cars
Never seen Henry in an old JDM 😅😅😅
You would think Larry would do this episode lol
90s JDM are the best cars in the world due to gentleman’s agreement of 278hp, they had to think of ways to go faster without increasing the power…..
Loved mine but at 50K miles it threw an apex seal though the exhaust and took out a turbo with it. No one could never get the rotary right. Glad this one has relatively low miles.
Such a dream.
We need some 90s Lancer Evolution love.
Rx8 is perfectly ok, just people who don't know what they're doing gave it bad rep, which is good for me as they are dirt cheap if you wanna buy one.
That’s my brown Micra! 8:15
A perfect car!
Yes Tips Oiled alright- such a clean shape, E Type 2.0- people must ( or maybe should) be fast tracking them back to stock ( maybe some engine / suspension mods)
There have been a few vids lately regarding retro reviews of the FD. It’s always funny to me since I’ve never gotten rid of mine unlike a slew of others I know. 🤷🏻♂️
I kinda pity the modern landscape because they’ll never know how awesome the 90’s were for everything. Not just JDM goodness. 👍🏻
IMO, these 3rd party aftermarket kits are pretty horrible. They take so much away from the original design. I get why some people go for it, but overall it’s kinda a crime at the same time. 🤷🏻♂️😂
I’ll continue enjoying mine for as long as I can. 😎