Shane Rabbitt's naturally aspirated Mazda RX7 has been in the shed for the last 5 years. It finally broke cover last Friday following a ground up rebuild for a trip to the
Blackchurch motors dyno. The very next day, Shane and the RX were due out on track for the first round of the
MicksGarage Irish Touring Car Championship. The video below is a clip from the car's first session on the rolling road.
This particular RX7 is unusual in that it isn't turbocharged, it's fitted with a peripheral port engine. The peripheral port is the ultimate form of porting for a rotary engine without turning to forced induction. The standard side ports are actually filled and completely new circular peripheral intake ports are fitted directly through the rotor housing. Peripheral porting has potential to produce over 300hp and is developed for racing, this particular engine ticks over at 3,000rpm! and has that wonderful, lumpy “brap-brap-brap” idle just like a
787b.
