What we learned from Le Mans -
Pure sports car spirit an the importance of weight reduction
Perhaps more important than this victory is that everything we learned from our many years of competing at Le mans, both spiritually and from technical standpoint, led to the evolution of the new RX-7. By challenging the best sports cars in the world, and sharing passion of those involved in this sport, we captured the essence of what a sports car should embody - a feeling of oneness between car and driver - and thus gained a clear insight of how we should design the new RX-7.
Needless to say, the key factor in creating our ideal sports car was weight, not only in terms of absolute performance but also in relation to the sensation of driving. Light weight was essential to our development of a sports car second to none in speed and driving pleasure.
Extensive weight reduction was thus selected as the technological theme for the development of the new RX-7. Mazda is the only car manufacturer currently using the compact, high-performance rotary engine, which gave us the ideal starting point.
The perfect location for heavy components, such as the engine, is between the front and rear axles. This configuration optimizes front and rear weight distribution and minimizes the yaw moment of inertia, both vital ingredients for sports car designed for exhilarating. In the new RX-7, the rotary engine is located behind the front axle, this is what we call the front-midship layout. The more conventional rear-midship layout, where engine is located between the cabin and the rear wheels, sacrifices luggage space and limits access to it. We believe that the front-midship layout is the ideal configuration for sports cars, since it necessitates fewer concessions in terms of design.
However, one major obstacle exist in implementing this ideal layout - the space between the front axle and cabin. Extending the wheelbase would be one solution, however this would sacrifice sports car dynamics. The compact rotary allows this layout without sacrificing the interior space, nor enlarging the wheelbase. As a result, weight distribution can be optimized, and the yaw moment of inertia can be minimized.
Our target was clear from beginning, to develop a car that fully exploits the advantages of the rotary engine while being endowed with the spirit of a pure-bred sports car. One that should be exemplary in a world where the paradigm has shifted. From a technical standpoint, all parts and components were the target of our weight reduction endeavours - down to the last gram.
For example, aluminium has been used for many components. These range from large parts such as the bonnet to detailed items like the arms and links of the four-wheel double wishbone suspension, brake and clutch pedals and even the jack. The overall size of the vehicle, door configuration and even the shape of the windscreen, along with a host of other details, have been the target of weight saving.
On the other hand, weight has been added selectively in areas of particular importance. Several cross-members and a strut tower bar were added to improve body rigidity, and the Powerplant Frame has been used to increase the rigidity of the drive train.
Major safety features such as the driver's-side airbag, side impact bars in the doors, anti-lock brake system, and the latest Torsen© limited-slip differential are also standard equipment. We believe that all these features are indispensable to realizing a secure feeling of oneness between car and driver.
The new RX-7 is a pure sports car. A sports car is not a vehicle that serves a solely utilitarian purpose, neither will it provide the same pleasure of ownership to everyone. We believe that a sports car should be a car for those individuals who require the satisfaction that can only come from the feeling of driver and car interacting as one. We hope the new RX-7 will bring back the spirit of freedom which existed at the inception of the genre. It is built for those people who truly love sports cars.
The pleasure of consummate interaction between driver and car, something that has been lost in many of today's sports cars, is waiting for you in the driver's seat of the new RX-7 - where the best of the world's modern technology has been brought together.
