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Reâ€"incarnated Mazda RXâ€"7 has awesome potential By JIM ROBINSON Oakville Beaver Staff X (0â€"60 miles per hou 4 seconds is like, but prepares you for it in the fle ticularly if that‘s how‘yC league drives for more tl hours. If someone had told me I would be feeling seasick on roads where the top speed is never more than 40 miles per hour, I would have scoffed. That is until I experienced the awesome potential of Mazda‘s newest reâ€"incarnation of the RXâ€"7 sportscar. While the current RXâ€"7 is one of the prettier sportscars on the road it was becoming something of a boulevard cruiser. Mazda decided to go back to the first generation RXâ€" 7, the simple rotary rocket which put the Wankelâ€"patent engine on the automotive map. Mazda engineers realized that light weight was not enough. It had to be combined to power. Thus they started with a clean sheet of paper and a racing goâ€"kart. Engineers were taught to drive the kart at competition speeds to find out the true meaning of powerâ€"toâ€"weight ratios. In fact, one of the Mazda engiâ€" neers on this test told me his collar bone had been broken driving the kart; not in a crash, but by the gâ€" force of his chest against the fourâ€" point safety belt. You‘ll need a belt to hold you in the 1993 RXâ€"7. Firstly, it is much smaller inside and outside yet it retains the twinâ€" chamber rotary concept of the forâ€" mer car. And while it is still a rearâ€" drive, the engine (although still called the 13â€"B) is allâ€"new. Displacing the equivalent of 1.3â€" litres, it uses sequential twin turâ€" bocharging to produce 255 hp NOW. Powerâ€"toâ€"weight in the new car is improved 25 per cent over the current model. The days of putting you foot down and counting to five or six before the boost came up are gone. The 1993 RXâ€"7 is almost V8â€"like in the way the 217 ft/lbs of torque can be brought up almost on demand. The roads around the Grove Park Inn in Asheville are set in the depths of the Smokey Mountains. Here a straight stretch of road is Wl l ON NEW ‘93 MAZDAS A CHANCE TO WIN 3 NIGHTS 4 DAYS fl_XE ACCOMMODATION, FILL OUT A BALLOT WITH EVERY TEST DRIVE. FULL DETAILS AT DEALERSHIP! MA XIMUM DISCOUNTS TOP DOLLARS FOR ALL TRADES ONâ€"THEâ€"SPOT BANK FINANCING ou can try to imagine what ut not! n Te measured in inches. Roads are either going uphill, downhill, or around a hill. It‘s no wonder the Moonshine runners learned to drive like they did. There‘s simply no way to keep up with a local unless you know the roads or you drive a car like the RXâ€"7. As mentioned at the top, I had a coâ€"driver known for his onâ€"off drivâ€" ing habits. This journalist has some 20 years of motorcycle racing behind him which is why he drives like he does. Now, in fairness, his abilities to toss the car around blind corners at ungodly rates of speed was impressive. But the effect it had on breakfast sloshing around inside my stomach can only be imagined. I was relieved to switch places and get a chance to admire the car at my speed. The entire machine has Mazda‘s "oneness" with nature design concept to it, thus you will be hardâ€"pressed to find a straight line anywhere. This organic look has produced a sportscar which looks small but aggressive all at the same time much as the race version of the first generation Shelby Cobra used to look. Mazda claims to have employed a Cray computer to shape the car. I can‘t help but notice the same wide hip line in the Miata and the 929 luxury sedan. Suspension is pure racecar being double wishbones with cial shocks. The antiâ€"roll bas B2200 Pickâ€"up MX6 Mysteré re tubular to save weight. Wheelbase is just 95.5 inches, about the same as a firstâ€"rank Formula One car. The four, ventilated disc brakes are the size of manhole covers. The car sits of 225/50VR superstick tires mounted on squeezeâ€"cast aluâ€" minum wheels. At the speeds this car is capable of, you don‘t need the tire coming off. Mazda brought two models to Canada. The basic car, which has almost everything and the "Touring" which includes power sunroof, leather seating, a compact disc player and the special Bose Acoustic Wave speaker system. 1993 Mazda RXâ€"7 If you want to wow your friends, get the Touring for the Bose sound. It all comes down to a monsterous piece of snaking plastic piping which routes sound to two encloâ€" sures right behind you ears. There is a hatch rear window which opens to expose a limited amount of stowage space good for two or three folding bags. All gauges are simple white on lack with red needles. Curiously there is no boost gauge. Mazda feels none is necessary. When I drove the car on those back roads, it was never necessary to use anything but third gear which shows how wide the rev and torque ranges are despite this being a turbo. In second gear, I hit the revâ€" limiter almost every time because the rotary spins so fast, yet is so quiet. Nothing, however, will prepare you for how it takes off from a standing start. There‘s no tire squeal and no screaming engine. In the time it takes you to slowly read this sentence, you would already be doing 100 MILES per hour. Stand on the brakes and you stop as swiftly. The cupped seats hold you in, but you still sense the fluids Wednt Aug h uk I don‘t know anyone who has driven a 959, but I seem to rememâ€" ber the NSâ€"X as requiring a lot of work to drive. I have driven the Prosche 911 C2 and the new 968, and this car is definitely faster. Those who know how to drive at the limit tell me the new RXâ€"7 holds the road better. It certainly is attractive in terms of price when you compare it to the likes of the other two vehicles which are almost twice as costly. Mazda Canada expects this car to sell between $42â€"$45,000. They see very few cars appealing to their target market which also includes the Acura NSâ€"X and Porsche 959. If there is a down side, it is inteâ€" rior room which was fine in the 1992 RXâ€"7 and almost perfect in the Miata; but is cutting it fine for a person of my size in the 193 RXKXâ€"7. One thing I am sure of is potenâ€" tial buyers should really consider taking driving school lessons so they can reap the rewards of all the time and detail design which have gone into making this one of the finest performance cars on sale in Canada today. ‘our body being thrust forward to centrifugal force. At normal highway speeds, the is happy revolving at 2000 rpm ‘ourth,. even less in fifth. You th to keep you eyes open in Carolina, they use trick cars hopped up Ford Pickup with a f hay in the back and flame on the front wheel wells. But sure was a state trooper with gun in the front seat. izda Canada expects this car 0 Automotive â€" A3