The Mazda FD RX-7 is arguably one of the best looking sports cars ever produced, and it is near mind-boggling that this beautiful piece of machinery is now blowing out twenty birthday candles. In this writer’s humble opinion, the only cars to come close to the Mazda’s astonishing looks from the same era are the Ferrari F40 and the Honda NSX.
That isn’t to say that every other car simply looked like the bottom of a weary traveller’s shoe; just everything else wasn’t this good. Not even today. The RX-7 still holds its own, twenty years down the track, like a very fine champagne surrounded by boxes of fruity lexia.
And then you get people like Daniel Ngo, who just improve on what many believe to be near-perfection at the time the curtains were raised on the showroom floor. Like drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa (yes, that is an improvement), Daniel has taken his RX-7, sprinkled some delicious modifications over it, and unveiled a vehicle that drops more jaws than a Victoria’s Secret show.
“I picked it up in Sydney at the beginning of 2012; the previous owner was building it into a sex-spec car, so in a way, I kind of rescued it!” Daniel laughs. “It was an unfinished project, so I basically ripped everything off what he had started and then began with a clean base.”
Daniel is the Australian dealer for Shine Auto Project USA and RX-7s are their bread and butter, so he got straight to bringing in their catalogue of body goods. The rear was minitubbed and then FEED wide-body rear fenders bolted on, along with matching items up the front. The wide-body kit pumps the track out an extra 25mm on each side.
The idea was to have the fenders bolted on with nutserts so that the finish of the car was perfect. “I like to build a car where no one can see the extra finishing touches unless they know a lot about the car and parts.”
“I always wanted to build something very different, and this RX-7 with its race-ready daily look was something I was really aiming for,” Daniel states. “I wanted to go a bit controversial at the time and I had envisioned a colour clash of Midnight Purple and Yellow Carbon Kevlar in my head. So instead of the traditional carbon fibre parts, I opted for the Carbon Kevlar in Twill weave.”
The Carbon Kevlar hood, side steps, diffuser, undertray and low profile wing out the rear really pop the Midnight Purple the RX-7 was sprayed in. “I had always wanted to paint an RX-7 in Midnight Purple; it’s such a fantastic colour, especially in the right lighting.”
Tein Flex coilovers keep the Mazda down low on the black stuff, and Work 11R FTs measuring a whopping 18×9.5in and 18×10.5in front and rear, wrapped in Federal semi slicks in 255 and 285 profiles front and rear, make sure that there is more corner speed than the Millennium Falcon.
“This is my third FD already, and I built it because I missed my white FD that I had years ago and regretfully sold,” Daniel tells. “I’ve grown up around rotaries; the sound, the ease to make silly power with small supporting modifications, and the powerband compared to a piston engine – there is nothing like it.” The 13B-REW is essentially stock, asides a Fujitsubo exhaust, Knights Sports air intake and Plazmaman FMIC coming in to keep intake charges at an optimum level.
At time of publication, Daniel had sold the Mazda and is moving into Euro-territory at present time. “I’ve had so many cars over the years; I either build them to how I envisioned and then sell, or get bored and sell.” In saying that, Daniel tells us that there is something special up his sleeve… so rest assured, we will see him piloting something truly unique again soon.
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