“Be careful when the next bus comes around the corner,” a man called out as he made his way through the old temple gate. He was right. Even though the drop-off area was set back from the road, the excessive width of Tani-san’s 1996 FD3S Mazda RX-7 Type RB meant that more than half the car was sticking out onto the road. I thanked the man, quickly snapped a shot, and signaled for us to move on.
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Back onto the main roads, the 2.2-meter-wide, customised body kit doesn’t cause too many issues. However, the minute we turned off to find another photogenic shop front to take a few pics, Tani-san immediately caused more traffic congestion than peak hour in downtown Tokyo.
Japan’s side streets are narrow and obstructed with power poles, elderly people walking dogs, and six-year-old children enduring solo treks to and from whatever extracurricular activity they might have after school. If you need to chuck a U-turn on one of these roads, you don’t want to do it in an ultra-wide RX-7.
In creating this incredible FD3S, Tani-san took inspiration from early-2000s GT300 cars – specifically RE Amemiya’s entry – to build a GT race car for the road. I use the word ‘build’ literally, as he rented a workshop space and pieced together the body kit himself over two years.
Tani-san used a TCP Magic front bumper and a URAS rear bumper as starting points. They were cut up and widened beyond recognition before being smothered in foam and hand-shaped. The rest of the car is a mash-up of parts that include TCP Magic G-Face Type TT front fenders, front diffuser and side skirts, plus RE Amemiya Sleek headlights, carbon fibre bonnet and ducts, and a giant Car Shop Glow rear diffuser. The rear fenders are one-offs, while the GT wing was built using Esprit, Car Shop Glow and CarShop Lead components. Last but not least are Fujita Engineering (FEED) carbon door handles, Craft Square mirrors, a Car Shop Glow ducktail spoiler, one-off rear window louvre, and custom taillights.
You can check out the build process on Tani-san’s Instagram.
Getting a professional finish pushed Tani-san’s abilities to the limit, so he enlisted the help of Ashiru Ito at A.BASE body shop in Aichi Prefecture to fine-tune the kit and paint the car in beautiful Lexus Nori Green Pearl.
Work Meister L1s in 19×12-inch front and rear finish things off.
Visually, a lot is going on, which may benefit Tani-san as he navigates Japan’s tiny back streets and bumper-to-bumper traffic jams. If I saw this pull up beside me, I would give it a wide berth.
As I readied myself to hop in the car to set off for our little photoshoot, Tani-san called over the low-slung roofline of the Mazda and said “It’s tight”. I stepped over the extra foot’s worth of side skirt width and squeezed myself into the passenger-side OMP HTE-R 400 bucket seat. He wasn’t joking.
Despite Tani-san’s limited English, his choice of words when describing the confines of the car’s interior was spot on. It’s a reverse Tardis situation – looks massive from the outside but is tiny on the inside.
Jostling down the road, the Endless Zeal coilovers give the car a purposeful firmness. I marveled at Tani-san’s ability to maneuver the RX-7 and dart between parked vehicles and oncoming traffic. I guess he’s used to it; like those articulated lorry drivers who manage to blindside parallel park without breaking a sweat.
There’s plenty of power to play with here too, with 459PS being created from the original 13B-REW powerplant, albeit now in a street port guise. As you can see, Tani-san has ditched the stock twin sequential turbo arrangement in favour of a big single KKK K27, with a large front-mount intercooler and custom exhaust also in the mix. A classic A’PEXi Power-FC engine management system gives the firing orders.
I love finding cars like this, built by 20-somethings with no experience but a lot of passion and creativity. It proves there’s life left in these old cars and plenty of styling and tuning methods to explore.
Tani-san told me he’s started working at Bodyworks DB, a Porsche specialist shop in Yamanashi Prefecture that I plan to visit soon. There, he’s learning the skills to build more cars like this. I’d say Tani-san has a very bright future ahead of him.
Toby Thyer
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tobythyer.co.uk
More stories from Japan on Speedhunters
1996 Mazda RX-7 Type RB
Engine: Mazda 13B-REW, side-port/street-port, KKK K27 turbocharger, custom exhaust system, APEXi Power-FC engine management system
Driveline: Factory 5-speed gearbox, upgraded clutch, limited slip differential
Suspension & Brakes: Endless Zeal coilovers, D2 Racing 8-pot front brake kit
Wheels & Tyres: Work Meister L1 wheels, 19×12-inch -49 offset with +15mm spacers front, 19×12-inch -81 offset with +30 spacers rear, Toyo Proxes R888R 295/30ZR19 tyres front/rear
Exterior: One-off front bumper based on TCP Magic part, Body Shop Newtype front bumper under panel, RE Amemiya Sleek Light headlights, customised carbon fibre RE Amemiya AD Hood 9, RE Amemiya carbon AD Hood 9 Duct Garne, customised TCP Magic G-Face TypeTT front fenders, TCP Magic G-Face TypeGT carbon front fender diffusers, Craft Square mirrors, Fujita Engineering door handles, customised TCP Magic G-Face TypeTT carbon side skirts, one-off rear fenders, one-off rear window louvre, Car Shop Glow ducktail spoiler, one-off tail lights, URAS Type-GT rear bumper, Car Shop Glow carbon rear diffuser, RE Amemiya vortex generator, Nissan Z34 LED rear fog light, Esprit 052 dry carbon GT wing, one-off Car Shop Glow dry carbon wing edge, CarShop Lead wing stays, one-off window vents
Interior: Cusco roll cage, Mazdaspeed carbon panels, OMP HTE-R 400 seats, OMP Targa330 steering wheel, IRP shifter, EL Meter Panel, Defi gauges, AEM air/fuel ratio gauge, Ultra 4500 shift indicator, Trust/GReddy Profec boost controller, Mazda option aluminium accelerator pedal cover