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1984 Mazda RX-7 benefitted from having all-round disc brakes. Built in 1984, this Series 3 has done fewer than 200 miles from new. Series 3s featured several detail improvements over previous cars, such as an upgraded dashboard as well as stiffer springs and dampers. This car joined the Mazda UK Heritage Fleet in May 2017. Having spent all its life in storage, it’s one of the finest RX-7s in the UK.
M AT T VO S P E R
The RX-7 firmly established Mazda as a sports car maker. Launched in 1978, it won huge acclaim as a road car and was a great success on the race track, including winning the Spa 24 Hours in 1981 with Tom Walkinshaw and Pierre Dieudonné at the wheel. Powered by a 1146cc 12A twin-rotor engine that produced 115bhp, it could hit 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and max out at 125mph. European cars also
1995 Honda NSX-R While the NSX was designed to be as usable as any other Honda, its engineers believed the car had more to give from its precision-honed chassis. The result was the Japanonly NSX-R, which was put on a crash diet that saw its sound deadening, air-con, spare tyre, audio system and more ripped out, and lightweight material used; in all, it weighed 120kg less than a standard NSX. Due to the Japanese
2001 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec II The final Skyline to wear the hallowed GT-R badge was a very special one – the R34. Its predecessors had pushed the performance envelope and given the European automotive aristocracy a bloody nose on track – be it in the real world or via Gran Turismo. The Skyline has become a cult, one based on the strength and tuneability of its twin-turbo 2.6-litre
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engine. Nissan refined the R34 recipe over the car’s three-year run, building increasingly rare and more hardcore versions. This V-Spec II has stiffer suspension, larger rear discs and a carbonfibre bonnet. The owner imported it 18 years ago after his first, a silver model, was stolen. Once lightly modified, the car was returned to factory spec five years ago.
brands’ ‘gentleman’s agreement’ at the time, officially it is no more powerful than the original NSX, but anecdotal evidence points to many more horses than 276bhp. Stiffer suspension and tweaks to the final-drive ratio, plus a blueprinted engine, made this the ultimate track-honed NSX. A renowned collector imported this car to the UK, and it is well pampered yet regularly driven.
