Bella, the Candy Apple RX7
This 1994 rotary-powered JDM legend needs no introduction. All an RX-7 ever needs is a dedicated owner and a respectful nod from anyone who comes into contact with it.
Nothing sounds like a rotary engine and nothing quite moves like one either. Not much from the ‘90s has such a commanding presence. The FD is an apex predator on the street and the track. It looks ready to strike even when standing still with the ignition off, yet the aesthetic appeal is one of elegance and fluid lines.
The look of this FD3S (JM1FD for North American models) named “Bella” is next-level aggressive thanks to four-stage Candy Apple Red paint, RE Amemiya GT-AD widebody kit, APR Performance GTC 300 rear wing, and custom-louvered hood. Undoubtedly, unless you’re hearing it pull up, those exterior details are the first things about this sports car that jumps out at you. Candy Apple Red is a bold statement: “I have arrived.”
Candy Apple Red with this widebody kit, front bumper resembling a ferocious menpō mask, and five-foot-plus-long carbon fiber wing kicks that statement up several notches.
Originally Vintage Red, Jon Togans bought Bella in 2010 from a private seller in North Carolina without seeing her in person. He found this FD on RX7Club.com after moving to Japan while in the Navy and selling his 187 FC RX-7 Turbo II.
“Of course, going to Japan as a car guy you typically look for these types of cars there: the GT-R, the RX-7, the NSX, Supra, and everything else that never came here to the States,” says Jon. “So I quickly got bit by the car bug again.”
Unfortunately, he had been deployed to the Pacific Ocean and flown to a ship just two weeks into his move to Japan, so he hadn’t been given time to indulge his car guy needs. But the ship had internet access, and the internet had car listings. Jon had the urge to own an FD RX-7, the means to acquire one, and, after it spent around nine months at a friend’s house in Virginia, the resources to have it shipped to his parents’ home in Las Vegas in 2011.
The prices of RX-7s hadn’t risen to the level they’re at now, so Jon also had the bankroll to stockpile parts. He collected every bolt-on he wanted—including two exhaust systems—along with coilovers. So, when he laid eyes on Bella for the first time a year after making the purchase, he started wrenching on her immediately.
Excluding professional bodywork, paint, and the second engine currently living underneath that custom-louvered hood (sourced from this FD’s previous owner four years after Jon bought it), Jon has put in countless hours over several years. He test-fitted the widebody kit, rear wing, and Rocket Bunny rear diffuser, and marked the hood himself for its louvers. He seems most proud of the hood: rather than buy an aftermarket, vented, carbon fiber hood, he opted to vent the stock, lightweight aluminum unit. The louvers are courtesy of a Vegas hot rod shop and make a powerful statement of their own.
“People are really drawn to it,” Jon says of the hood. “They look at it and say, ‘Who makes this hood?’ I say, ‘Mazda and me.’”
Bella drives as great as she looks and sounds. This is due to a street-ported 13BTT featuring modified non-sequential OEM twin turbos; Atkins Rotary seal kit; GReddy pulley kit, twin intake kit and front-mount intercooler; ACT Stage 2 street clutch; and Magnaflow downpipe, cat-delete and titanium cat-back exhaust system. A street tune from California tuner Garage Life, estimated to make between 350 and 400 horsepower with about 16 pounds of boost, is managed through an A’pexi Power FC with Commander and GReddy PRofec B Spec II boost controller.
Whether cruising to a Gears & Grinds gathering on a lazy Sunday, carving a canyon or hitting the apexes on a track, Nitto NT05 tires wrapped around Work Emotion CR two-piece wheels, EBC drilled and slotted rotors, Hawk HPS brake pads, Stance GR+ Pro adjustable coilovers, and Mazdaspeed rear adjustable tow arms an front sway bar kit keep this FD pinned to the pavement and out of trouble. Jon flicks through gears using a B&M short-throw shifter topped with a Top Secret shift knob.
“You definitely feel like, even though it is a streetcar, you’re in a race car. The way the motor sounds, how quickly the turbos spool up—and I’m running stock turbos on mine that are just configured differently—the feel of it, the sound of it,” explains Jon. “The sound of the rotary is just distinct. Everybody loves the sound. No matter what kind of exhaust you put on it, it sounds great. The power is always there. The powerband is amazing, it doesn’t matter what type of driving you’re doing. It’s just an overall fun car.”
Jon has plans to bring Bella to the track this year. He’s a fan of racing and after many months of fine-tuning the suspension, this FD is ready to race. Jon also plans to spend less time turning wrenches and more time detailing and protecting cars; he’d like to open a wrap business and has taken classes to become a Clear Bra specialist. Clearly not one to stand still, he has been helping his cousin with his own RX-7, a recently purchased 1999 FD that will go in a milder direction than Bella. Oh, and there’s also the R32 Skyline GT-R in his garage...
