01
How to start it
Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.
RX-7 FD
CuratedDerived trims
The 1995 Mazda RX-7 FD combines 1.3L Twin-Turbo Rotary (13B-REW) with RWD. Its catalog figures are 255 hp, 2,840 lb, and a starting price near $38K. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 5.3 seconds and a 156 mph top speed.
Research links
Trims
Choose a trim · 1 available
Tap a trim to open its full page — specs, features, build configurator and a maintenance schedule tailored to that trim.
Features
What this car offers
Safety & driver assistance
- ABS
- Dual front airbags
- Three-point seatbelts
Performance hardware
- Performance brake package
- Manual throttle and clutch control
- Passive performance suspension
- Mechanical limited-slip differential
- No launch control or selectable drive modes
Cabin & technology
- Analog instrument cluster
- Sport upholstery
- Physical audio and climate controls
- Period-correct factory audio
- Mechanical key and immobilizer
- No factory smartphone mirroring or remote software updates
Safety rating
4/ 5
Value score
9.5/ 10
Performance, build, and ownership-cost composite.
Overview
About the Mazda RX-7 FD
Every Mazda carries some of the company's history with it, and the RX-7 FD is no exception. The 1995 Mazda RX-7 FD combines 1.3L Twin-Turbo Rotary (13B-REW) with RWD. Its catalog figures are 255 hp, 2,840 lb, and a starting price near $38K. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 5.3 seconds and a 156 mph top speed.
Under the bonnet sits a 1.3L Twin-Turbo Rotary (13B-REW), sending 255 hp to a RWD driveline. That's enough for 5.3 seconds to 60 mph and a 156 mph maximum — figures that say as much about the gearing and aerodynamics as they do about the engine. At roughly 2,840 lb it carries about 11.1 lb per horsepower, which is the number that actually predicts how it feels on a road rather than on a spec sheet.
Mechanically it's a conventional, well-understood package rather than an experiment, which is a large part of why it works as an everyday car.
Sports cars live or die on feel. Grip, steering weight, gearshift quality and how progressively the chassis lets go matter far more here than a headline power figure. At around $37,950, the RX-7 FD is priced as a car people genuinely use, and our value score of 9.5/10 reflects what you get for that against its direct rivals rather than against the market as a whole.
Owned properly, it rewards drivers who care about how a car does something more than how fast it did it.
How to use
Owner's walkthrough
Practical guide for everything a new owner asks on day one — starting the car, finding the gear selector, drive modes, infotainment, driver aids, and easy-to-miss features.
02
Where the gear selector is (and how to use it)
Console-mounted shifter with R-N-D-S notches; paddles behind the wheel for manual gear control. If you ordered the manual, the gate is dog-leg first-down on most performance variants — read the shift-knob diagram before you pull away cold.
03
Drive modes
There are no selectable drive modes. Throttle response, steering effort, brake feel, and damping are mechanical rather than software-configurable.
04
Instruments
Analog gauge cluster centered on tachometer and speedometer; warning lights handle the rest. No reconfigurable digital layouts, no head-up display, no thumb-wheel menus.
05
Infotainment & voice control
Factory audio is AM/FM/cassette (CD changer on late-90s flagships). No touchscreen, no nav, no Bluetooth — connectivity features did not exist on the original car.
06
Driver assistance
Electronic driver assistance is either absent or extremely limited by modern standards. Do not expect adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking, surround cameras, or stability-control intervention; leave extra space and warm the tires before driving quickly.
07
Fueling
Premium unleaded (91 or 93 octane) is required on Mazda performance models — the engine timing is set for it and lower octane causes audible knock and reduced power. Fuel-cap release is a button on the driver door panel; the cap is capless (just push the nozzle in).
08
Keys
Cut metal key with immobilizer chip on most post-1993 cars. No remote-app access, no shareable digital keys, no wallet credentials.
09
First-week tips & easy-to-miss features
A few things every new owner tells us they wish they'd known on day one:
- Download the brand app (Manufacturer app) and pair it with your VIN before your first long trip — remote climate, charging/fuel-level checks, and remote lock-status save you walking back to the garage in winter.