The legendary Group B category was one of the most competitive racing categories, many companies were preparing cars for the category, but due to its abrupt end, some managed to race only for a short time, such as Mazda.
Mazda prepared the RX-7 for the season of 1984, where it raced, but in selected rallies. They wanted to try the race for the first year, the next year though they were fully involved and on the third year they hoped to compete with Lancia and Audi. In 1985 Ingvar Carlsson managed to get third position with an RX-7 behind the Audi Quattro of Stig Blomgvist and the Peugeot 205 T16 of Timo Salonen.
Henri Toivonen’s death in the Corsica Rally on May 2, 1986, dramatically changed the profile of the WRC. Mazda had to build 20 racing cars during a full season, but they remained at 7. One of those cars will be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s on September 6, in London.
This specific RX-7 was assembled in 1985 and it did not manage to race, later it was found in the Swiss delegation of Mazda as a showpiece. It is equipped with a two rotor 1.3-liter turbocharged engine that delivers just over 300 hp and can go up to 12,000 rpm.
