The FC3S Mazda RX-7 typically appears overshadowed by its successor, the FD3S, nevertheless it’s exquisitely executed FCs like Saito-san’s that depart me with a smooth spot for this basic chassis.
So far as street-terrorising automobiles go, Saito-san’s RX-7 is about as good for the job because it will get. So hitting the roads and lanes round Saitama is precisely what we did on this specific Saturday afternoon.
It’s not unusual to see others capturing their automobiles and bikes towards the scenic backdrops on this small, culturally wealthy city, however not at 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon. Cruising down Saitama’s primary procuring avenue, Saito-san’s straight-piped FC virtually stopped everybody of their tracks.
Deciding it wasn’t well worth the danger of a Good Samaritan alerting the police to this rowdy, rotary-powered coupe, we headed barely out of city amongst the fields for some photographs.
The FC actually seems the half so far as time-attacking circuit automobiles go, however after an accident at Tsukuba Circuit just a few years in the past, Saito-san has been far more conservative together with his Mazda, principally having fun with it on the road. In reality, I used to be first launched to him at Umihotaru PA, a well-liked parking space in the midst of Tokyo Bay, the place Saito-san was out for drive with another FC3S house owners.
Saito-san’s automotive has gone via a number of totally different revisions in his seven years of possession. Over that point, the originally-white Mazda slowly acquired small items of aero and misplaced items of its inside.
Dino really shot the automotive on the annual 7’s Day meet at Daikoku PA again in 2018 – an excellent comparability to the way it seems now.
One of many standout exterior upgrades is the sometimes-controversial RE Amemiya entrance bumper (with canards) and stuck headlight conversion. Whereas I believe this provides rather a lot to the aggressive styling of the automotive, others could disagree and query the removing of the long-lasting pop-ups. The automotive nonetheless retains it steel rear fenders, however up entrance makes use of Panspeed +45mm FRP fenders to accommodate the RAYS Volk Racing CE28SLs. Saito-san runs an 18×10.5-inch +15 sq. wheel setup with 275/35R18 Dunlop Direzza ZIII tyres in any respect 4 corners of the automotive.
The manufacturing unit hood has been swapped for a Tamon Design carbon fibre substitute, which paired with the RE Amemiya headlight induction aero permits for loads of air circulate.
The rear of the Mazda follows swimsuit with an Esprit 052 GT Wing, which matches up properly with the Automotive Store Glow diffuser beneath. Very similar to the FD3S, FCs look nice with an in-your-face GT wing, particularly when the remainder of the automotive has been styled accordingly.
Not like most different modified FC RX-7s in Japan which run Ganador mirrors (Saito-san’s automotive beforehand too), Craft Sq. TC objects are a welcome change.
It’s apparent that this RX-7 has been meticulously put collectively for the circuit, and I actually hope we get to see Saito-san again on the market quickly with some regained confidence.
Regardless of the FC’s track-ready look, Saito-san has chosen to maintain the Mazda’s driveline easy. The engine is an ordinary 13B – the automotive’s authentic unit no much less – fitted with just a few choose bolt-ons together with an HKS front-mount intercooler equipment, HKS Tremendous Energy Stream air filter and the aforementioned exhaust. It’s all managed via an HKS F-CON V-Professional piggy-back ECU.
Behind the engine sits an ATS carbon twin-plate clutch, an FD3S 5-speed gearbox, and a Cusco 2-way LSD-equipped rear finish.
The inside is on-brand with the remainder of the automotive. There’s little left of the manufacturing unit gear, save for the sprint, centre console and passenger seat, with uncovered steel painted, a full Cusco roll cage, Momo steering wheel, and a Bride Zeta III seat with TRS harness added. The sprint is house to 5 Defi gauges and a GReddy Profec increase controller.
If there’s one factor I like most about capturing automobiles in Japan, it’s the unending spots and backdrops obtainable, every of them setting a very totally different scene. In simply this shoot alone, we have been capable of bounce between a large area, a historic city, and a riverside again avenue – all inside 5 minutes of every different.
There’s one constant between all these spots that makes capturing a automotive like Saito-san’s RX-7 so nice, and that’s the distinction between the topic and the setting it’s in. Saito-san’s FC3S seems, and is constructed for the circuit, and also you’d usually count on to see photographs of it on the observe. But it surely’s the addition of some licence plates and an virtually surreal Japanese backdrop that at all times provides a lot to the authenticity of those automobiles.
Alex Pender
Instagram: noplansco