1997 Mazda RX-7 - 4-Rotor for Street & Track

How far would you go to build a dream car? Would you stay in when friends had the club going up on a Tuesday, walk past the liquor aisle on a Saturday, and avoid frivolous spending like a cut-rate DJ does live mixing? Few have the will power; I sure don't. Yuki Kamakura, on the other hand, does and in turn realized his dream by building this unique four-rotor 26B-powered Mazda RX-7. More impressive still is the fact that Yokohama local Kamakura-san is only 20 years old. He had a humble upbringing and had a hand in much of the wrenching that occurred at Scoot Sports Japan.

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We stumbled upon this clean creation during our Fresh Tokyo Car Meet the night before Tokyo Auto Salon. Before our "love at first sight," there was an eargasm—BRaaaaapppp!! The raspy exhaust note heard bouncing off the concrete walls of the parking garage was a thing of beauty (just check out the video on our website to see). As a crowd gathered around the FD3S, anxious to see under the hood, the scent of strong gasoline fumes crept into our nostrils. Running rich with no f*cks given to mpg, it was clear the mechanic coverall-clad Kamakura-san still had four-rotor engine tuning to do post-Tokyo Auto Salon. But since we hosted a meet, the time had arrived to showcase it, and we were rightfully impressed!

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In '91, the Mazdaspeed 787B race car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans—it was the first Japanese champion machine. This vehicle and feat stuck with Kamakura and is the reason why he decided to build a 26B and drop it into his engine bay. Making this build a reality as a boiler operator by day was not easy, as told by Kamakura, "Basically, I spent 90 percent of my salary for an FD3S. I couldn't go out for play. I couldn't buy clothes. I went to the shop [Scoot Sports Japan] every day after work and helped their work—it was very good experience for me to know how to build this race car."

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While the '91 787B Le Mans winner is a radical design, this FD is more understated. "I wanted to keep OEM style, so I didn't use so much body kit and too much dress-up parts. Simple is the best way for making street and racing car. Function is beauty," Kamakura said.

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Still young, both the owner and the build, there is more fine-tuning ahead. Kamakura-san has his sights set on making a reliable 600 hp to the rear wheels, while also improving his driving ability to take on Fuji Speedway. He's built a legendary car that would gain the respect of anyone on the street or the track, but now it's time to set the record straight and show people why the four-rotor is one of the best engines in the world.

Hear the 4-Rotor at 1:16min mark.