In November 1997, Mazda Australia ran an advertising
campaign for the RX7 in the press. There was a 16 page advertisement in the November 1997 issue of "Motor"
magazine, as a centre page insert.
This brochure was scanned for the information of
fellow RX7 enthusiasts on the web.
I have no connection with Mazda whatsoever and this is not an official
Mazda web page.
The advertising campaign Photos
This was a 16 page brochure, 11 of which were about the RX7.
* Note: the centre fold image has been "retouched" with a
paint program to remove a fold down the middle of the page
The advertising campaign text
(This is a scanned version of the text
found in the brochure)
Page 1:
The Science of Speed
Champions aren't born, they're developed.
This is the story of the RX7, a classic in our time.
Page 2:
Power of the mind
If you want to build a world class sporting car, first
you must get the basics right.
The best automotive brains in the business were put to work with one aim:
make the RX-7 fast, but user-friendly
If you want to learn a lot about RX-7s fast, walk around
the back and look at the diameter of their tailpipe. It's a no-nonsense
72 mm, the classic three inches, and big enough to swallow your arm. Rotaries,
and especially turbocharged rotaries, don't need anything fancy in the
way of extractors and twin exhausts. They just need a big exit. In a way,
that brutal tailpipe says a lot about the car - Mazda's third generation
RX-7 - the model some Australian enthusiasts call Series 6. By hinting
at performance to match the car's lithe looks, the tailpipe helps define
an essential part of the RX-7's character: it's a cutting-edge front-engine/rear-drive
modern sports coupe that effectively combines refinement with ferocious
efficiency and reliability.
And, as 12-Hour winner in an RX-7 John Bowe says, "for a car with
supercar-like performance, they're very easy to drive. You don't have to
be Michael Schumacher to drive them." Bowe also lists the five speed
manual gearbox, "pin-sharp" steering and ABS-backed brakes high
on his list of RX-7 user friendly traits.
It's this accessibility to the RX-7's other-world performance capabilities
which has made the car such a tremendous success around the world. And
it's left its mark on the most cynical and hard-nosed of all judges: motoring
journalists. Recent production changes helped the latest RX7 romp home
in the $70-100k category in MOTOR magazine's 1997 Bang For Your Bucks showdown
(July '97). If you missed the issue, the RX-7 made a clean sweep of almost
all categories. At Calder Park Raceway, the car ran a sensational 13.68
second 0-400 metres, finished the 0-100 km/h sprint in 5.4 seconds and
was clocked at 198 km/h down the main straight.
With 194 kW at 6500 rpm and 295 Nm at 5000 rpm on tap and all delivered
with silky-smooth, twin sequential turbo efficiency, the latest RX7 packs
6.7 kg/kW and 74.5 kW/L specific power into a legendary chassis that's
also recently been revised and improved with higher suspension rates and
other tweaks. "It can handle unbelievably well, even out of the
Page 3:
box," says Mazda's Allan Horsley, the man who masterminded the
RX-7's four-in-a-row 12-Hour race wins and, back in the early-1980s, Allan
Moffat's unforgettable RX-7 touring car successes, including back-to-back
Sandown 500s.
"Even in the early days of the 12-Hour race team, we went to Targa
Tasmania to do development work on the car," Horsley says. "And
in the Targa itself, Garry Waldon passed Jim Richards in the wet. Jim couldn't
believe it, and neither could anybody else. That's just how good they are
in the wet; just incredible."
As manager of Mazda's Fixed Operations - which means basically looking
after everything after point of sale - Graham Earley says RX-7s only rarely
appear on the second-hand market. "You don't find dissatisfied RX-7
owners," Earley says. "They're all generally happy with their
investment. It's a car that meets all expectations."
As you would expect, both Earley and Horsley rate the RX-7 highly. And
so do the drivers who have raced it during its memorable 12-Hour successes;
aces like Bowe, Alan Jones, Dick Johnson, Mark Skaife, Allan Grice and
Waldon. As twice 12-Hour winner in an RX-7, Waldon says, "they're
an excellent package on the track and on the road. Talk to Bowey, Jones,
or any of the guys who race them or anyone who drives one."
Both Horsley and Earley, meanwhile, list their favourite RX-7 attributes
as reliability, durability and cutting-edge technology. They're qualities
which clearly excite the legions of hard-core rotary fans. And, as Horsley
says, they're attributes that should bring the under-rated RX-7 to the
attention of buyers who traditionally gravitate towards more conventionally-powered
cars. "You can't ruin one of these engines," he says. "It'll
last forever. The strength of the actual structure itself is also unbelievable.
The roof is double-skinned and honeycombed, like a race car. It's unbelievably
strong."
"The twin-rotor rotary is a smoother engine in principle," Earley
says. "The fact the engine uses centrifugal force, rather than reciprocating
masses, contributes significantly to its smoothness while also contributing
greatly to its reliability. It's an engine that delivers smoothness with
less resonance, less vibration and less NVH. It's much more compact than
engines producing similar horsepower so, in simple terms, Mazda's engineers
have been able to do a lot more with a smaller package. Fewer moving parts
also equate to reduced potential for wear and tear or component failure."
Mazda people freely admit the rotary engine has long suffered a reputation
for being thirsty, but both men put that situation in perspective by pointing
to engine output versus cubic capacity. "The 13B-REW engine delivers
4.0-litre-style output but, at the end of the day, it's really only
Page 4
1.3 litres," Earley says. "Over the years, the biggest bugbear
has been the engine's perceived poor fuel consumption.
"But it has been wrongly compared against conventional 1.3-litre reciprocating
engines, which really aren't even in the same ballpark when it comes to
power and torque."
"Nobody walks around saying a Ferrari or a Porsche has poor fuel economy
which, incidentally, they both have," Horsley says. "But fuel
economy is always mentioned for the wrong reasons when people want to have
a go at rotaries." Where other twin-turbo applications supply turbo
boost simultaneously, Mazda's system is the first to offer sequential turbo charging,
where one turbo boosts low rev performance while the second unit kicks
in at higher revs.
"It's a much more efficient delivery of performance," Earley
says. "With a lot of turbo applications there's a point where you
get a lag factor the turbo doesn't deliver on demand. It might only take
a second, but the performance isn't there when you demand it, when you
open the throttle. You tend to get that bogged-down, flat spotting effect."
That doesn't happen with the RX-7's sequential turbo charging because it's
already spinning when it kicks in. "So you're not looking for the
windup-and-deliver performance you get from a single turbo and most other
twin turbos," he says. "The RX-7 really does have instantaneous
power on demand."
To further optimise the twin-turbo set-up, Mazda developed the Advanced
Rotating System, where the secondary turbo is kept spinning in pre-operation
mode, right on call. The RX-7's elaborately shaped 'Dynamic Pressure' exhaust
manifold further improves throttle response and low speed torque.
The compactness of the rotary engine allows
Page 5
technology like sequential turbo charging because there is plenty of
room in the engine bay. Its compactness also led to ground-hugging frontal
styling, good aerodynamics and a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution.
Or, as Horsley points out, "it's actually 25 percent all round".
Fuel injection is via an EGI-HS 'High speed, Speed-density' system which
uses air density measurement rather than an airflow metering device for
smoother airflow and precise fuel supply to the system's dedicated ECU.
Horsley also points to the car's Torsen torque sensing differential. "It's
similar in principle to the type of thing they use in big speedway cars,"
he says. "And it's something very special. It's a very, very smooth
application of a locked, or limited slip diff. I describe it as a very
limited-slip diff. But it's not a diff where you sometimes get all sorts
of weird things happening. That doesn't just happen with this system."
Developed by Zexel-Gleason USA, Inc, the Torsen diff is unique in the way
it combines torque management and differentiation. In a nutshell, the Torsen
feeds maximum tractive effort to each driving wheel while still allowing
it to respond to rev fluctuations caused by tyre slippage and vehicle directional
changes.
In the words of legendary race driver and motoring journalist Paul Frere,
until recently rotary engined cars were considered "some sort of freak,
better left alone". But, as Frere points out, Mazda has since won
Le Mans with a rotary engined sports racing car.
"Since Mazda beat the cream of the world's manufacturers at Le Mans
with a rotary engine, both the rotary and Mazda are seen in a different
light and have gained the world's respect," Frere said. Anyone who
has driven a current RX-7 will tell you they long ago directed their preferences
Mazda's way.
Page 6 - Sidebar article
Water Power
Mazda's rotary engine has a head start in the alternative fuel race. Its
Hydrogen RE (Rotary Engine) car is in front because it runs on hydrogen,
the only practical energy source that produces zero carbon dioxide - that
choking by-product of fossil-fuelled vehicles - and the fuel touted by
scientists as the clean, unlimited energy source of the future.
Hydrogen is a renewable energy source. You make it from water and, when
you burn it, it turns back into water. It also happens to be the most abundant
element in the universe. Conventional reciprocal engines and hydrogen don't
mix. They're prone to ignition problems, but the rotary's separate intake
and combustion chambers are easily adapted to hydrogen combustion.
Strictly speaking, Mazda's Hydrogen RE prototype is a hybrid energy car.
Mazda's own Active Torque Control System (ATCS) uses an electric motor
behind the all-alloy engine to transform kinetic energy from braking into
torque assistance for the engine: another clever energy cycle.
The twin rotor engine itself is only 998 cc in size and uses ceramic apex
seals and coatings - similar to technology employed in the 1991 Le Mans-winning
Mazda 787B. Fuel supply is low-pressure, direct injection. Mazda engineers
are working towards 73 kW and 127 Nm and petrol engine performance.
The car is lightweight, upright and futuristic. Aluminium space frames
are clad with FRP panels, and a spacious bubble cabin sits between the
long, low nose and a high-kick, hatchback tail. The engine is centrally
located and drives the rear wheels. just the thing for a cleaner commute.
There's a hitch, however. You see, hydrogen fuel isn't yet commercially
available on a major scale. For now, scientists buy it in small doses at
exorbitant prices. Many more scientists believe mass production of hydrogen
is inevitable, and they'd like to see it happen sooner rather than later.
Page 6 - Main Article
Putting the Legend to the test
Some people talk about performance, others compete. Mazda bit the
bullet and proved its RX-7 is as effective on the race track as the road.
Appreciate a spinning wheel and you'll start to understand why RX-7s have
dominated Australian endurance racing. Rotaries love to spin, you see -
especially sequential twin turbo rotaries, which generate almost linear
power and torque in the process. Even in road trim, the RX-7's twin-rotor
engine produces almost 200 kW and around 300 Nm from just 1.3 litres. And
it will do so all day, if it has to.
A rotary is a smoother engine in principle, using centrifugal force, rather
than up-and-down reciprocating masses. Mazda's 13B-REW is compact, too
- not much bigger than two skewered basketballs - which means it can be
slotted further back in the chassis than a conventional engine, greatly
assisting weight distribution and contributing to a lower, more aerodynamic
nose. And the rotary's smoothness and mechanical simplicity also contribute
to impressive reliability - exactly what you want in 12-Hour production
car endurance racing.
Slot that compact, potent engine into a car with almost perfect weight
distribution and 0.31 Cd
Page 7
aerodynamics - a car that looks like a blur standing still - and you'll
understand a little more about why RX-7s race so well.
"You couldn't get better weight distribution in a car," says
Allan Horsley, the man who managed the car's incredible string of four
consecutive 12 Hour races from 1992 to 1995. "With the driver seated,
there's virtually 25 percent of the car's total weight over each wheel."
Horsley, whose wily 'racing brain' has been honed over 30 years or more
in and around motor racing, knows a winning race car when he sees one.
During that 30-odd years, Horsley also oversaw Allan Moffat's giant-killing
RX-7 victories in the 1982-83 touring car championships.
And he's the guy who drove experimentation into cool fuel which eventually
helped the RX-7s against-the-odds victory at Eastern Creek. Let's just
say Horsley knows how to get the right people around him to help him build
a winning race car and run a winning team.
"The car is incredibly strong to begin with, so we started with a
good package, anyway," Horsley says. "The rest came from developing
what we had to work with."
During that incredible four year run of wins three at Bathurst and one
at Eastern Creek RX-7s were in the hands of some of Australia's best drivers.
John Bowe and Dick Johnson combined to win the 1995 Eastern Creek cliff
hanger, Alan Jones shared one Bathurst win with underrated RX-7 endurance
race specialist Garry Waldon, who also joined with Queenslander and Bathurst
stalwart Charlie O'Brien to give the car its first I 2-Hour win, just three
weeks after it landed in Australia, in 1992. The last Bathurst 12-Hour,
before its switch to Eastern Creek, was also won by an RX-7, this time
driven by the late Gregg Hansford and the versatile and talented Neil Crompton.
Touring car champions Bowe and Johnson's epic 1995 struggle with the Jim
Richards and Peter Fitzgerald Porsches will go down as one of the most
dramatic races in 12-Hour history. It will also be remembered as the first
win by the RX-7 SP, the car built to suit that year's race against the
odds, and the car that was successfully developed into an ultra low volume
homologation special for 45 lucky owners. "We only had to build 10
cars to race the SP but we kept getting orders for it," Horsley says.
The RX-7s had to be especially good to cope with exhaust restrictions imposed
on the 12Hour cars after Mazda's consecutive 1992-93 wins. Those new regulations
allowed normally aspirated cars free exhaust systems but confined turbocharged
cars to their standard systems costing the RX-7s an estimated 15 km/h off
their top speed.
Page 8 & 9 (Centrefold image)
The RX7's twin sequential turbo, twin rotary engine powers it from
0 to 100 in 5.3 seconds.
A fast reading indeed. For the location of your nearest Mazda dealer call
1800 034 411 (BH) (Australia Only)
It'll reach 100 km/h before you reach the end of this sentence.
www.mazda.com.au
Page 10
Like each of the previous 12-Hour winning RX7s, the SPs were developed
and built in- house, at Mazda's Kingsgrove, NSW apprentice training centre.
Horsley oversaw the build, helped by race car engineer Barry Jones, and
orchestrated each long race day. And, just as they did at each of the 12-Hour
races beforehand, a select band of Mazda apprentices pit crewed the cars,
putting more experienced outfits to shame.
Bowe, who shared the '95 winning car with Dick Johnson at Eastern Creek,
later described the epic duel with the Richards and Fitzgerald Porsche
911 RSCS as his hardest race ever. Bowe attributes much of that win to
the RX-7's user-friendliness, both on the road and on the track. As a Mazda
dealer in Tasmania, he's also had ample time to drive RX-7s over some of
the best roads in Australia.
"They're very easy cars to drive, very user friendly for something
with so much performance," Bowe says. "I think that user-friendliness
is probably their greatest strength. My GTP (sports racing) Ferrari 355
is about four times as difficult to drive.
"In the Eastern Creek race itself, the fact the RX-7 was easy to drive
at the limit proved fortuitous for Bowe, who spent much of his final stint
in the car with his legs and arms cramping, his team mate Johnson pumping
up his spirits over the two-way radio.
Bowe cites the car's near-perfect weight distribution as an essential part
of this user-friendly equation. You only have to look at videos of the
things in action to see how flat they sat on the track; how manoeuvrable
they were through tight chicanes at places like Surfers Paradise, where
they also romped to three wins from three IndyCar support race starts.
If you ever get bored watching F1 cars glued to the track in their own
brand of violent poetry, get yourself a video and watch Bowe and Waldon
waltz the silver-and-blue Triple M cars through the Surfers chicanes, or
over the Mountain and round the Creek. It's sure to get your motor racing
pulse going again.
Interestingly enough, Waldon - who won the one-hour Surfers main race with
Bowe, while Allan Grice won the two shorter sprints, also in an RX-7 -
says the car was actually a handful at that event. "John and I went
for the wrong suspension settings," he says. "It was as simple
as that. But we still won the race and had a ball doing it."
Bowe says the RX-7's user-friendliness extends right through the car. "The
sequential turbo system isn't as on-or-off, as 'light-switchy' as most
turbos," he says. "One turbo takes care of the bottom end, and
the other one takes care of the top end. So, while you're always aware
it's a turbocharged engine, it's not difficult to drive, like some turbo
engines can be. It's not difficult to control. The surge of power is quite
linear, although you're always aware that it's turbocharged.
"That last race at Eastern Creek was the best race for me because
the Porsches were quicker, and we won against the odds - which I always
think is the best way to win," Bowe says. "We never let up on
them, and our tactics paid off at the finish. I believe it was a good win,
and I was actually quite buggered at the end of it. In the earlier races,
the Mazda was the car to have , but the Porsches looked like they were
going to walk away from us at Eastern Creek."
Bowe also drove in the RX-7's debut race at
Page 11
Bathurst 1992, when two cars were screwed together in three weeks and
the Waldon and O'Brien car won. Both cars overcame early teething problems
- including loosening hoses and a brake system mix-up where two bolts were
inadvertently swapped - which cost them valuable time in the pits. Waldon
and O'Brien came back to win, and Bowe and Gregg Hansford stormed through
the field to finish a stunning fifth outright.
"The other car won, but we had the most fun," Bowe says. "At
one stage, Gregg -and I were 36th in the field, and we ended up fifth.
Once the team solved the problems, we just drove the car flat-out all day.
We didn't win the race but we had more fun than the blokes who did. We
were fastest car on the track by miles."
Waldon, the man who from day one helped develop the all-conquering 12-Hour
RX-7s, agrees with both Horsley and Bowe that the road-going RX-7 formed
the rock-solid basis for the race cars. "The turbos are very, very
smooth in operation. It's a very tractable car; the power doesn't come
on with an enormous surge. When the car was set- up well, I believe it
was as good as the best production car that's ever been on a race track
anywhere in the world," Waldon says. "For a production car, really,
Mazda has got its act together with that car. I've driven all sorts of
cars - Porsches and BMW M3s - and the RX-7 is as good as anything. I rate
them as highly as Porsches." with change to spare...
Page 11 sidebar article
Train to Win
Many of Australia's new wave of Mazda mechanics cut their
teeth on the all-conquering 12-Hour RX- 7s. When they're being honest about
it, some will also admit they practiced their formidable skills on a wrecker's
yard EH Holden before the first Series 6 RX-7 arrived from Japan. As apprentices,
usually around 18 or 19, many of today's top mechanics were part of the
pit crews at Bathurst and Eastern Creek when the RX7s dominated the enduros.
"One of the first things we asked ourselves after we decided to go
racing was where the hell are we going to pick up a pit crew," says
Mazda's 12-Hour maestro Allan Horsley. "Any regular race mechanic
who was any good had already been signed up."
The problem was solved when Mazda dealers agreed to spare apprentices for
the race program. "We got an enormous response from most Mazda apprentices
in NSW, I think" Horsley says. "They were all very keen, and
we then chose those we felt would be the 10 best people for the job."
Enthusiastic volunteers found, all the race team needed was a car to practice
on. With its entry lodged and its first 12-Hour less than a month away,
Mazda didn't actually have a car to race. "When we started training
we didn't have a car because it hadn't yet arrived from Japan," Horsley
says. "So we bought in old Holden from the wreckers' and chopped it
down to RX-7 dimensions and welded RX-7 hubs and wheels on it. Then we
proceeded to intensely train the apprentices." This paid dividends
on race day, when the young crew coped with aplomb during crises that would
have rattled pros.
"We never realised it until that race, but we put a bolt in back-to-front
in the new brake callipers," Horsley says. "There were two bolts,
and no-one had noticed one was about quarter of an inch longer than the
other. If you put them in the wrong way they jammed on the discs. We made
the same mistake on both cars. At one stage Bowe's car got to the end of
the pit counter, and we had to push it all the way back on a trolley jack
to our pit with one wheel locked solid. We had to work out what was wrong
and change it."
But the young mechanics coped with the prolonged pitstops and the dramas.
So much so, they earned the respect of the hardened professional pit crews
on race day. "I don't think there was any other crew that could beat
them on a car that had five wheel nuts on each wheel," Horsley says,
"I've never known a crew to be that fast."
Page 12/13/14/15 (Mazda branded T-shirts etc)
A: Mazda Shirt. Stylish white polo shirt - $24.90
B: Mazda Sportsbag. For the active sportsperson, a multi-compartment sportbag
- $24.95
C: Mazda Shirt. Smart, flattering navy polo shirt - $28.75
D: Mazda Shirt. Versatile, quality denim shirt - $35.90
E: Mazda golf balls. Top quality golf ball, box of three - $15.50
F: Mazda torch. Rugged aluminium pocket torch - $18.90
G: Mazda key ring. Stylish Carlisle key ring - $12.50
H: Mazda key ring. Detachable Berkeley key ring - $13.90
I: Mazda bomber jacket. High quality wool and suede bomber jacket - $250.00
J: Mazda baseball cap. Heavyweight two-tone baseball cap - $14.90
K: Mazda Shirt. Navy T-shirt with embroidered logo - $14.90
L: Mazda baseball cap. Navy baseball cap - $14.40
M: Mazda Shirt. White T-shirt with embroidered logo - $14.40
N: Mazda folder. Folder with three ring binder, business card holder and
calculator - $63.50
O: Mazda jacket. jacket in a packet - compact, foldaway, lightweight waterproof
jacket - $96.00
(ORDER FORM - You should print out the image above - OCR did not work well
on this)
ITEM SIZE (please circle) CODE PRICE QTY.
White polo shirt m l xl xxl A $24.90
Sportsbag B $24.95
Navy polo shirt m l xl xxl C $28.75
Denim shirt m l xl xxl D $35.90
Golf balls (box of three) E $15.50
Pocket torch F $18.90
Oval key ring G $12.50
Detachable key ring H $13.90
Bomber jacket m l xl xxl I $250.00
Two-tone baseball cap J $14.90
Navy T-shirt m l xl xxl K $14.90
Navy baseball cap L $14.40
White T-shirt m l xl xxl M $14.40
Folder N $63.50
Waterproof jacket s m l xl 0 $96.00
TOTAL: ______________
TO ORDER, MAIL TO: Mazda Speedwear, PO Box 183, Southbank, Vic 3006, or
fax orders to (03) 9696 2059. Please allow up to 21 days for delivery
PAYMENT DETAILS I enclose my cheque/money order for $____payable to Mazda
Australia OR please debit my credit card for $ ( ) Bankcard ( ) MasterCard
( ) Visa
Card No._ _ _ _/_ _ _ _/_ _ _ _/_ _ _ _ Expiry date _ _ / _ _ Signature
______________________
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms, Initials_____ Surname_____________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________ State/Country____________
Postcode _______
Phone BH _____________ BH _____________
Page 16
The latest, greatest, most convenient way to find us - WWW.MAZDA.COM.AU
If you haven't caught the exciting online technology wave
sweeping the globe, start paddling! Mazda's joined the race through cyberspace
with a brilliant new internet website that's bringing news, information
and entertainment to hundreds of thousands of car lovers. Like our cars,
we've put great effort into building a creatively designed and user friendly
site. There's so much to see. From the main menu you can head in a number
of clearly marked directions. Click-on Technology, and we'll take you on
a guided tour which makes difficult tech subjects simple. Want to talk?
No problem. E-mail us with your Mazda story and, while you're at it, take
your chance to win fabulous Mazda jackets and caps by testing your knowledge
of Mazda product. There's information about Mazda vehicles, a listing of
all dealers across Australia and information on Mazda community projects.
It's an impressively practical yet entertaining site. And best of all,
you're only ever one click of your mouse away from the latest developments
in Mazda's Activities. Happy Surfing!
Mazda Australia Limited (ACN 004 690 804)
More Information
The '3rd generation' Mazda RX7 ceased sale in Australia in 1998. As of March
2001, it is still on sale in Japan.
Further reading and acknowledgements:
* November 1997 issue
of "Motor" magazine
Other relevant reading at Craig's Rotary Page (Please go via the INDEX
page):
* Books page (Back issues
of "Motor" magazine & RX7 by J. Yamaguchi, 2nd edition - all about
this RX7)
* 1995 Australian RX7 Brochure page
* RX7-SP page (Australian developed high output RX7)
Other relevant sites on the Internet (Please go via the LINKS
page):
* Mazda Japan, RX7 pages
* There are many other pages on the Internet about this model RX7
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PAGE OF SITE]
This page last updated 18/3/2001
Update History:
18/3/2001 - Changes to More Information section. Converted all text to new standard (Headings as
Heading1, Some sub-headings (e.g. tables) as 14 point normal bold italic, Most
text as Normal, Internal page links at top not all uppercase). Changed from Netscape to FrontPage.
Background image
changed to PG00_02B.JPG
26/11/1997 - Previous known update (May have been some before this)
This site is online at tripod (The large images on many pages don't
work due 20MB site limit)
Please do not 'rip' the site (due to bandwith restrictions)
I have a number of other sites. Visit the main
index page Please note this information is not definitive check the disclaimer
