Mr Morlock wrote:speeds comment that the RX7 was based on the lotus élan, the same as the mx5" is just plain wrong at least as far as MX5 is concerned. Anyone doubt it;read the history as related by the designers
I cut and paste for you below, starting with RX7, then MX5 and highlight in bold. No doubt you will pick on the wording but check the timeframe...
First generation RX7
Series 1 through 3 were
the first generation of RX-7s that had styling inspired by the Lotus Elan 2 2. This version, except for one model of Series 3, shipped with the 12A engine. Series 1 refers to the "SA22C" cars, sold as 1979 and 1980 model years. Series 2 (from then on called "FB"s, referring to their vehicle identification number, which begins JM1FB) refers to the 1981 - 1983 model years, which had wraparound taillights and updated engine control components. The Series 3 refers to the 1984 - 1985 model years which featured an updated lower front fascia and different gauge display layout. (The S3 RX-7 is the only rotary-engined car to not have a centrally mounted tachometer.) The GSL-SE model (S3 only) had a fuel injected 1.3L 13B-DEI engine and stronger drivetrain components.
Options and models varied from country to country. The gauge layout and interior styling in the Series 3 was only changed for North American versions. Additionally, North America was the only market to have offered the 1st generation RX-7 with the fuel injected 13B. For other countries, Mazda used a turbocharged (but non-intercooled) 12A engine for the top end model. Additionally, the FB designation was only used in North America after the US Department of Transportation mandated 17 digit Vehicle Identification numbers. Elsewhere in the world, the 1st generation RX-7 kept the SA22C designation. In Japan, Mazda sold the RX-7 as the Savanna, replacing the RX-3.
Sales were strong, with a total of 474,565 first-generation cars produced; 377,878 were sold in the United States alone. In 2004, Sports Car International named this car #7 on its list of Top Sports Cars of the 1970s. In 1983, the RX-7 would appear on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for the first time.
MAZDA MX5 HISTORY
The idea of a low cost, simple, small but highly entertaining convertible seems like an obvious one. But it took 13 years, a new approach to car development and a drop of fate to achieve it. In 1976 US journalist Bob Hall put the idea to Kenichi Yamamoto, Head of Research & Development at Mazda. He suggested that to crack the US market Mazda needed to reinvent the classic
British roadster of the 1960s - like the Lotus Elan, MGB and Austin Healey Sprite. Several years later in 1981 and now an employee of Mazda in product planning, Hall revisited the idea with Yamamoto who was now ran Mazda. Yamamoto gave the green light to developing the idea and through an innovative product development programme the project was given to competing teams in Japan and America. The brief was simple - create a low cost but highly rewarding roadster for the 1990s.
The American design team worked on a classic rear wheel drive, front engine layout while the Japanese team favoured a mid engined, rear wheel drive concept. Eventually the US version won the competition and in 1989 the Mazda MX-5 - as in Mazda eXperimental project number 5 - was launched. With input from British company International Automotive Design the finished
Mazda MX5 car owed a lot to the seminal Lotus Elan of the 1960s. Like the Lotus, the Mazda was a low cost convertible with low weight, relatively low power and superb handling. It expressed the Mazda design philosophy 'rider and horse as one.'
