Mazda RX-7 FD

"You can't be a true petrolhead until you've driven a Mazda RX-7." No, Clarkson never actually said that. But if there's one Japanese car that could leave even the messiah of the motoring world lost for words, this is the one. A car that works on principles nobody quite grasps, that sounds like someone has trapped an army of angry hornets in a tin can, and that meanwhile looks as though it has just driven straight out of an anime opening sequence.

The FD, the third-generation RX-7, is the sort of car petrolheads talk about in hushed tones, for fear of waking someone up. Back in the 1990s, Mazda did something no other manufacturer dared to: they stubbornly stuck with the rotary engine. An engine with no pistons, no up-and-down business, just a couple of triangular rotors happily spinning round in a housing.

Fewer moving parts, revs higher than is healthy, and a sound like nothing else on earth. And to top it all off: two turbos in series, sequential, so one does the dirty work low down in the rev range and the other joins in the moment you start getting serious.

The result was a car that made the big names look silly at the time. The press couldn't stop talking about it, and rightly so. Perfect weight distribution, a low centre of gravity, and steering feel that many a European sports car would have killed for. This was no car for the poser who only wanted to be seen outside the local coffee shop. This was a tool for anyone who actually wanted to drive the way it was meant to be done.

Right, back to the RX-7 on offer here. A 1994 example in Montego Blue metallic, and that blue shade just so happens to be exactly the colour this shape deserves. Manual gearbox, as it should be, because a car like this with an automatic is... well, you know. 239 bhp from 1,308cc of rotary, a cracking 250 bhp-worth of rotary joy that cries out for an empty country road and a free Sunday morning.

What makes this car such a pleasure is its well-documented youth. Originally delivered in Belgium, in Wijnegem, with delivery inspection and first services neatly signed off at Garage de l'Abbaye in Ohain. The original owner's manual and the warranty and service booklet are both present, including those lovely handwritten notes from back in the day.

In 2001 it came to the Netherlands, where it has since passed tidily through the hands of enthusiasts and faithfully sailed through its MOTs. A car with a past you can retell, rather than one you have to invent.

The equipment is Japanese-functional: two seats because the colour is blue, the number plate isn't, leather upholstery, a body that hangs low over the tarmac and four Yokohamas underneath, with decent tread depth. The galvanised doors on the left-hand side are a detail only true FD connoisseurs know to appreciate.

A word of honesty now, because that's just how we do things here at HooG Selections. A rotary engine is a wonderful thing, but it does need love. Keep the oil topped up, let it warm through properly before you wring its neck, and above all: don't start it cold and shut it off straight away too often. Those who understand that are rewarded with an experience no piston engine can give you. Those who don't would be better off buying a Golf. Nothing wrong with that, but it's no RX-7.

And that is precisely the point. The FD was built in an era when Japanese engineers were still allowed to dream without the accountants looking over their shoulders. An age of the Supra, the Skyline, the NSX. Precious few of those cars are left that still drive around in genuinely original, tidy condition. They get written off on track, modified beyond recognition or forgotten in a barn. An honest, documented FD in this colour is slowly becoming rarer than many an Italian exotic.

The 1990s aren't coming back. This car brings them to your doorstep for a while.

Key features

• Mazda RX-7 FD, third generation, built 1994
• Colour Montego Blue metallic
• Manual gearbox
• Rotary engine 1,308 cm³ with sequential twin-turbo, 239 bhp / 176 kW
• Two seats, leather upholstery
• Original owner's manual plus warranty and service booklet present
• Delivery inspection and first services signed off at Garage de l'Abbaye, Ohain (Belgium)
• Originally delivered in Belgium, in the Netherlands since 2001, long line of enthusiastic owners
• Faithfully maintained MOT history, still valid for a good while
• Four Yokohama summer tyres 225/50/15, tread depth 6.0 mm
• Galvanised doors on left-hand side (FD detail)
• Margin-scheme car