Used Car Buying Guide: 4car Buying Guide

The RX-7 remained on sale in Japan until the launch of the RX-8, although official imports to the UK stopped in 1996. Techno-freaks love the rotary or 'Wankel' engine (developed from a design by Dr Felix Wankel) which dispenses with pistons in favour of two triangular rotors. Mazda first fitted such an engine in the Cosmo 110S sports coupe of 1967, and went on to use it in a range of family saloons and sports cars, including the original RX-7 of 1978.

A rotary engine provides seamlessly smooth power delivery, and because it is so much lighter and more compact than an equivalent normal engine, it keeps weight right down - ideal for a sports car. However, rotaries are phenomenally thirsty, and many early examples suffered from serious reliability problems. NSU collapsed into the Volkswagen/Audi empire following horrendous warranty claims for the Ro80, and Mercedes, Citroen and GM all abandoned their rotary efforts in the wake of the oil crisis of 1973. But Mazda bravely continued, claiming that it had solved the rotor sealing issues, and the RX-7 went on to be one of the world's most popular sports cars. The third-generation, twin-turbo RX-7 launched in '92 is the curviest, most bulbous-looking yet, and came with a full spec - air-conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, ABS, limited-slip differential, alloy wheels, central locking. It also came with 'just' 237 bhp, which is why many got tuned to the Japanese specification of up to 280 bhp, and why many Japanese cars have been personally imported.

The Type RS and Type R are the highest powered, promising 0-60 acceleration in a supercar-like five seconds, although the 265 bhp Type RB, which is available with automatic transmission, isn't far behind, with a 5.3-second 0-60 sprint time. All RX-7 models were fitted with driver's airbags from January 1993, and received minor restyling in 1995. The downside of the RX-7? It's got to be the fuel consumption, which is less than 20 mpg, depending on how hard you put your foot down.

Pre-1992 RX-7s can now be had for well under £1000  but theyre only for the brave. If you want the reassurance of a manufacturer warranty with your rotary engine, the RX8, starts from around £20,000 brand new... End of line RX-7s, more powerful than the RX-8 and with more supercar-like styling, can still fetch that kind of money and have a dedicated following.

Top Ten: Rotary-engined classics
Mazda RX-8