Mazda hasn’t produced an RX7 sports car in many years, but that doesn’t stop innovative companies from reinventing this JDM icon. The Famous Japanese body kit specialist Liberty Walk has just revealed a nearly complete widebody LB Silhouette package for the FD generation and it basically combines two Porsche 911 elements, the Slantnose front end, and the “Moby Dick” rear. That’s why you’ll find this Mazda-Porsche hybrid referenced as “935FD”.
Both elements belong to the world of racing, and they make perfect sense, considering the RX7 was designed as a rival to Porsches. It was light, precise, and agile back in its day, not to mention quite the expensive little sports car. Advan provides the wheels and we have a “Coca Cola Zero” livery on top just to make things interesting, at least for the Tokyo Auto Salon debut.
But if you’ve got $25,000 to spend, you too can build a Liberty Walk Silhouette RX-7, something nobody has ever seen until 2023.
Why the Silhouette body kit is special
Liberty Walk makes plenty of body kits, and some of them are quite affordable. However, the LB ๏ธ๏ธSilhouette line is unusual, rare, and very expensive. These builds often have names or are easily recognizable, even as Hot Wheels toys. My favorites include the superb S15 Silvia from last year’s Goodwood show and the unique LB-ER34 Skyline with red and black paint, inspired by the old Tomica livery.
The kits alone are often quoted at over $50,000. They’re made in limited numbers, and the build prices themselves can often push over half a million, especially with Lamborghinis where just the parts go up to $200,000.
In any case, you can tell this is an all-time great Mazda RX7 body kit, even though a few elements are missing (the livery). The Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 should be one of the greatest tuning shows of all time!
Clearly inspired by the world of 80s racing
JDM tuning fans are probably aware of the bosozoku style of cars, which are low, with large fenders and bumpers which stick out. This takes inspiration directly from the 1980s era of Japanese race cars, specifically the Super Silhouette series, fire-breathing machines which made over 562 hp (570 PS), spat exhaust flames, and looked like touring car bodies on top of Formula car tube chassis.
You obviously don’t need to look for a Silhouette Mazda RX7 FD because this generation was made from 1992 to 2002. However, the earlier RX7 did have boxy race car versions with this design, and I feel like Liberty Walk got the vented front-end idea from the RX7 254i, a 1982 Le Mans challenger.
But even though Mazda did have Silhouette versions, it’s impossible to look at this RX7 widebody and not see the Porsche 911. The front end features a bumper with headlights right at the bottom, basically screaming “Slantnose”.
Meanwhile, the rear of the car creates this teardrop shape around the rear tires, also channeling air with the help of an extended diffuser and a giant bolt-on wing. This is reminiscent of the great Porsche “Moby Dick” tail, be that a classic 935/78 race car or even its modern-day counterpart which Porsche made 77 of and sold for almost $1M. There she blows!