Apologies if I start this post off on a rather negative note, but knowing what 7’s Day (7/7) was once like in Japan, it’s hard to not be concerned at the dearth of participants that turned as much as the official unofficial Daikoku PA get-together this past weekend.
While it has been a bit quieter lately, the low turnout on Sunday late afternoon/early evening may very well be attributed to the annual 7’s Day event held at Mobara Circuit, which fell on 7/7 this 12 months. Most owners who attended would have skipped dropping by Daikoku PA on the way in which home, having already got their 7’s Day fix ahead of a brand new working week.
But whatever the explanation for the smaller affair, what began as a slow and chilled gathering did, thankfully, enliven because the evening become night.
July 7 has endlessly marked the celebration of one among Japan’s most revered performance automobile models. The Mazda RX-7 in all its generations is loved by enthusiasts across the globe, and for good reason – these are amazing sports cars with unique – and highly tuneable – rotary engines.
The Mazda rotary engine, and subsequently models just like the RX-7 may need been out of production for some time now, but as owners keep refining, restoring, and tuning their cars, this scene is just convalescing.
7’s Day isn’t only for RX-7s; all Mazda rotaries join within the celebrations. The one Cosmo I saw was this pristine 12A-powered HB coupe with iconic early-’80s pop-up lights. I like this stuff a lot, but when I had to decide on a favorite Cosmo, it could be the rounder JC variant (1990-1996), available with a 20B three-rotor engine.
I got to ride on this Veilside Fortune FD3S RX-7, which was a little bit of a blast from the past as I shot the movie cars Veilside built for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift back within the day. In the event you visit Tokyo, you possibly can rent this automobile, which is pretty cool.
Because it got darker, more cars arrived, which saved the day for me.
This FD3S, rolling on iconic Mazdaspeed MS-02 wheels (by RAYS), is a 7’s Day regular.
As is the case each time July 7 rolls around at Daikoku PA, I find yourself falling for these cars.
In the event you don’t come away from an evening like this excited about buying an RX-7 – and envisioning what you’d do to the aesthetics and engine – are you even an actual enthusiast?
That leads me to this query: In the event you had an RX-7, how would you approach it? Keep it stock or easy? Light mods? Heavy mods? Or perhaps a full RE Amemiya conversion?
The largest surprise was seeing Automotive Shop Glow’s ‘GT race automobile for the road’ FD3S RX-7, which we first saw at Wekfest Japan 2024 just a few months back. This automobile jogs my memory of the Revolution time attack FD3S from a decade ago, but designed to be driven on public roads. Toby has shot a feature on this beast, so stay tuned for that.
Because the time got here to go away, quite a lot of other cars began rolling into the parking area, which might have made the numerous tourists who arrived in tour vans glad I’m sure. There isn’t a higher place to taste authentic Japanese automobile culture than Daikoku PA – even on 7/7 Sunday with an RX-7 turnout smaller than you’d hope for.
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: dino_dalle_carbonare
dino@speedhunters.com
This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
