How long will 3rd GEN RX-7 be popular??hmmmmm
don't get me wrong this car has been indeed the CAR Of the Century
But how long will the RX-7 hype live???
My prediction is that it will remain one of the best down the road, invest in one today and the Value could skyrocket someday, (i really don't see why it would go down)
Now is yur turn, predict the future for this CAR

 

in time the car will become a collector's item. that goes goes for bone stock ones. i dont think rx7's with body kits and huge wings on them will be worth anything in the future like 30 years or so.

 

I agree 100% the fact that a lot have been totalled and many more are becoming damaged beyond repair. Its really hard to find a good FD with no stories and low miles.

 

That's why you should ALWAYS keep your stock parts around in case you want to sell it

 

It's actually strange, the prices of these are far less than the Supras...but I think it's because of years. In time they will definitely be worth a lot because US regulates cars too much these days, so you can kiss the twin turbo rockets good bye. I'm still trying to figure out a way to import a skyline

 

The FD3S RX-7 won't even be one of the most memorable Japanese sports cars of the 1920-2000 period. 8 out of 10 people still can't identify the car as a Mazda, let alone an RX-7, and 9 out of 10 wouldn't be able to tell you how a rotary engine worked if their life depended on it.

 

I'm not sure the 3rd Gen will be remembered especially (although it may well become a bit of a collectors item), but I think the RX-7 range will become a part of motoring history, for bringing an almost unique technology to the masses at affordable prices..

Cheers,
Dave

 

I think that since the new RX8s are heavier and non-turbo, FDs will be highly respected ( just like the 5.0 mustangs when the "slow" ones came out in 96). People will be like - look there is an "old" RX that **** is fast, despite the fact that technology has advanced and our 3rd gens will not be as fast compared to newer cars the hype will live on (the same way we think some of these musclecars are so so fast but in reality they run 15s). You gotta admit - stock to stock we can literally blow away a 98 Mustang GT while a race with a 00 GT is a hell of a lot closer (we still win though). I don't think people can forget what an incredible car the 3rd gen RX7 was in our time, it's everyone's dream car! And people like us will keep loving it!

 

I 100% agree with Roland, in the future, the 3rd gen will be respected by peoples perception of the car rather then modern (future) standards.

 

The FD in my opinion is a classic and the rotory unique. But, you have to remember how big the automobile industry really is! I somewhat agree with Jimlab, that most people don't identify the car as a Mazda. I am sure many of you enjoy the stares of people trying to figure out what kind of car just drove past them. What I think is the biggest negative for the FD is the Rotory engine itself. You and I love the Rotory, but most people don't understand them or don't want to mess with them. The "next RX7" will tell us how "Classic" the FD was ... Crossing my fingers.

 

Sorry, but I don't buy into the "skyrocketing value" of the 3rd Gen in the future, although I have been pleasantly surprised that I can sell my low mile (48k) FD for about the same price I bought it for three and a half yrs ago ($15k). IMO, it's hard to fathom any Japanese car becoming a significant return on investment

To the FD owner, the 3rd gen looks and performs on a par with Porsches, but we shouldn't expect it retain or gain the market value of one in the years to come. Better to appreciate the car for what it is; an affordable alternative to exotic car performance. Besides, if you want to invest, put your money in a 401k

 

I don't know how collectible it will be, or how soon, but we are posting on a very active web site with 11,000 members for cars that haven't been sold here for 7 years. I think these cars will be collectible to some of our fellow forum members in the years to come. Hell, they are collectible now in that sense.

As for recognizability, my guess is that the general public would have a hard time identifying most collectible cars. I don't think that is necessarily indicative of anything. If everyone could recognize a car, that would bode well for its collectibility, but I don't think the oppostite is true for a car that people cannot identify. And there are 11,000 people right here that can identify them.

-Max

 

I personally think the FD is like the MGB's of our generation. The MGs didn't have the horsepower our cars have, but the principle is the same. It's a tuners and tinker car. The kind of car that YOU have to work on. If you not a do-it-your-selfer, than the FD isn't for you. The more I learn about the car the easier it seems to work on. I think one da our FD's will be considered one of the best looking and best performing cars of the era(90's) And with ever-restricting emmisions it would be hard to make a turbo rotary again. I think it will be known as the affordable exotic. As for prices, if the RX-7 is NEVER made again, then the price for our cars will increase a lot. If the '78-'85 RX-7 were the ONLY RX-7s(meaning a rotary powered sports car) the value of the little FB would be awsome. But, I could be wrong.

 

I agree, the lexus sc300-400 are very rare...especially finding a manual sc300 since the 400 manual doesn't exist. RX-7 is the only true sports car in the past 40 yrs or so. 255 HP out of a 1.3 will never be forgotten

 

I don't know the Seattle car seen. Jim is currently running around in a Z06 and pretty much blowing away ricers and just about anything else. I doubt he has been beat. I would guess once he gets that FD out there people will not know what it is. It will look gorgeous. It will be awesome on the street at any speed. From a dead stop forget it "La Breck rules". FD to my opinion is not a collector car. It is a cult thing. We have a car that is much maligned. Mazda really screwed up in some areas of this car. But people love it and spend tons of $$$ trying to fix it's shorthcomings. We love the darn thing. It's gorgeous just the way it is "stock body". Which car would you rather have: Jim's mint gorgeous one of a kind with a $30K V8 Chev or Gordon's mint 450rwhp FD?? Personally I love them both and can't decide. I love what Jim is doing. He's a young man doing what the hotrodders of old have done. I'm one of them and like it. I had a '40 Ford convert with a Chev V8 and a '48 Ford with a '60 chysler V8. I wish I still had those cars. I love people that are different and do the extreme. Jim is doing that. Gordon has taken a great car and souped it up and has fixed it's shortcoming. I'll take his car over a $100k+ Porsche AWD 415H tt anyday.

Ken

 

I'm sure you do, but that's fine. Your opinion is irrevocably biased.

 

Nor will 450 horsepower out of an 8.0 liter V10 (56.25 hp/liter) or 405 horsepower out of a 5.7 liter V8 (71.05 hp/liter), because both of the cars that pack them can grossly out-accelerate an RX-7 (stock for stock) despite its more efficient (196.15 hp/liter) powerplant...

I've said it before, and I'll likely have to say it again. High horsepower per liter numbers are great, but they don't necessarily win races. The true story is in the rest of the power curve, not just the peak output. The same goes for power to weight ratios.

 

dont forget 462 horsepower out of a 3.6 liter flat-6 (128.33 hp/liter) or 668 horsepower out of a 6.0 liter V12 (110.16 hp/liter) will grossly out-accelerate both of those. WTF is your point??

 

I shouldn't be amazed that you had to ask, but I am... you should be able to figure that out on your own, JoeD. I'm not going to bother explaining it to you.

 

Yes, vous. And where did the comment about squeezing 19x16" wheels come from?

 

I think the Rx7 will be a collector car for a small few in the future. This might be a little overstating it, but I think it could be the "E-type" to this era. Plus, I saw some guy on the Barrett Jackson auction pay like 125 grand for a damn COPO camaro. It was a fast car but seriously.

 

The main thing about the RX-7 is straight-up uniqueness. Most of us here could have bought 90s Corvettes, Mustang GTs, 3000 GTs, etc etc. But who wants to drive the same mass-consumption car everyone else does? The FD is the closest you will get to a truly personal sports car. There are SO few of them on the road (I've yet to see one this year) that it (superficially or not) makes you feel special. There doesn't exist a more beautifully classic understated body design on planet earth (IMHO). The performance/handling is why most people here bought them, but to me...that's just icing on the cake.

And as long as I live, I would never, ever buy a Corvette/Mustang/Camaro/Eclipse/3000gt/Z3,etc etc. I mean, I can usually count 25-35 brand new Corvettes on a trip from Daytona to Orlando. And I've seen 3 Z06's this year.

Those are great cars for the most part, and there are certain personalities that WANT what other people have. They want a Corvette *because* it's a huge seller and popular. The FDs were never great sellers, and even now, not very popular outside of the street racing scene. For this reason it's value will never really increase significantly (IMHO) but for the same reason my love for the car will grow and grow...

Keeping with the no-piston theme...... "Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks."

 

The Z06 is the third gen of the 2000s. Well, at least up to 2002. Huge performance and low price.

Some personalities WANT what other people don't have. Both of those personality types are suspect to me, and I don't think it is valid to deduce the motivations of an FD or Z06 driver as being from one of these two camps. They are both great cars, and some people bought them purely for that reason. Some people even bought both! Actually, a lot of people seem to be buying both, so that whole personality theory is way off IMHO.

I've heard it said that collectible cars are those cars that were cool when the generation that currently has money and health were teenagers. If that is the case, I think the third gen is likely to become a collectible car.

-Max

 

I attended Barrett Jackson this past weekend and I've got to believe that eventually rotary-powered cars will start to gain popularity with the collector car community, simply from the standpoint that no other manufacturer has successfully marketed the rotary engine to the masses. I'd really like to talk to collectors like Reggie Jackson and others to see why they haven't caught on yet. Look at cars like the 55-57 Chevy. It took them nearly 20 years before they became hot commodities in the collector car community. I think in time it will happen. I've met too many people who tell stories of having the doors blown off their Mustangs and Camaros by RX-7s for the rotary to not eventually transfer this mistique over into the collector car community, but it will take time. Probably when a majority of us are in our 60s we'll see the value skyrocket. It's just a matter of time.

 

The FD is a standout car for sure like the mighty Audi quattro or Renault 5 turbo which both I have owned(back in UK.)and should be remembered forever by those in the know.

Unlike a XR2 which was a sad little Ford,that I,d almost forgot about until now!!