The RX-7 has won more IMSA races than any other car model. In addition to this, a GTX version was developed, named the Mazda RX-7 GTP this was unsuccessful, and the GTP version of the car was also unsuccessful. The RX-7 took the GTO championship ten years in a row from 1982. The car continued winning, claiming the GTU championship seven years in a row. In its first year, RX-7s placed first and second at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and claimed the GTU series championship. Mazda began racing RX-7s in the IMSA GTU series in 1979. Mazda is also the only manufacturer to win the 24 hours of Le Mans race using something other than a reciprocating piston engine. To this day, Mazda is still the only Japanese manufacturer to have ever won the prestigious 24 hour Le Mans race outright. The car was a 4-rotor prototype, the 787B. In 1991, Mazda made racing history becoming the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to win the 24 hours of Le Mans. The RX-7 Le Mans effort was replaced by the 717C prototype for 1983. Those two cars were back for 1982, with one 14th place finish and another DNF. That same car did not finish in 1981, along with two more 13B cars. The next year, a 12A-equipped RX-7 not only qualified, it placed 21st overall. The first outing for the car, equipped with a 13B engine, failed by less than one second to qualify in 1979. Racing versions of the first-generation RX-7 were entered at the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. ![]() The advantage the RX-7 had was its minimal size and weight, and the compact rotary engine installed behind the front axle, which helped balance the front to rear weight distribution, and provide a low center of gravity. The transition of the Savanna to a sports car appearance reflected products from other Japanese manufacturers. The lead designer at Mazda was Matasaburo Maeda, whose son Ikuo would go on to design the Mazda2 and Mazda RX-8. In Japan it was introduced in March 1978, replacing the Savanna RX-3, and joined Mazda's only other remaining rotary engine powered products, called the Mazda Cosmo which was a two-door luxury coupe, and the Mazda Luce luxury sedan. Series 1 (1978–1980) is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. The rear seats were initially marketed as a dealer-installed option for the North American markets. It was offered as a two-seat coupé, with optional "occasional" rear seats in Japan, Australia, the United States, and other parts of the world. The compact and lightweight Wankel rotary engine is situated slightly behind the front axle, a configuration marketed by Mazda as "front mid-engine". The original RX-7 was a sports car with pop-up headlamps. The RX-7 replaced the RX-3 (both were sold in Japan as the Savanna). ![]() The original RX-7 featured a 1,146 cc (69.9 cu in) twin-rotor Wankel rotary engine and a front-midship, rear-wheel drive layout. The Mazda RX-7 is a sports car produced by the Japanese automaker Mazda from 1978 to 2002.
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