Regular readers might recognize the name on the photo credit, since this is the fourth feature pulled from Christopher Jue’s archives, following the Final Motion R32 Skyline we published recently. Jue shot this Mazda RX-7 in March 2010 for Import Tuner magazine at Pan Speed’s home base in Hasuda, Saitama, and like a lot of material from that stretch of the print era, the photos deserve a permanent home. This one has been sitting in the archive long enough.
The car itself is a 1996 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S), and it didn’t belong to a customer. This red FD was Pan Speed’s own demo car, and the parts list reads exactly like you’d expect from a shop demo. Nearly every major exterior piece is Pan Speed’s own catalog: GT2007 front wide fenders with vertical fins, GT2007 rear over fenders, a GT2010 front bumper spoiler, GT2010 side steps, a GT2010 carbon fiber hood, one-off canards, and the shop’s rear double wing.
Under the hood, the 13B stays true to the same in-house philosophy. Boost comes from a GCG bolt-on turbo in Type S spec, feeding a modified Blitz three-core intercooler in a horizontal-mount configuration, with an HKS EVC-5 handling boost control and an HKS F-CON V Pro handling engine management. The fuel system combines 850cc Mazda OEM injectors, a SARD fuel pressure regulator, and a Nismo fuel pump borrowed from the R34 GT-R parts catalog, while cooling runs through a Pan Speed one-off three-core radiator and an HPI oil cooler. The combination is rated at 371.6 hp (376.8 PS) at 7,200 rpm and 290.8 lb-ft (40.2 kg-m) at 6,850 rpm on 14.2 psi (1.0 kg/cm2) of boost, healthy numbers for a street rotary of the era.
Putting that power down is an OS Giken Super Lock LSD paired with an OS Giken twin plate clutch and lightweight flywheel. The suspension is another in-house special, with Pan Speed SPL coilovers built on Öhlins dampers and matched to 60mm Swift springs rated at 896 lb/in (16 kg/mm) up front and 1,008 lb/in (18 kg/mm) in the rear. PFC race pads and Pan Speed stainless steel brake lines cover the braking hardware, and the whole thing sits on RAYS CE28s measuring 17×9.5 at both ends, staggered by offset alone at +40 front and +22 rear, wrapped in square 255/40R17 Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Specs.
What stands out about this FD is how focused the build is. There’s no audio story, no graphics package, and no interior showpiece, just aero, engine, driveline, and footwork, with Pan Speed’s own name attached to more of the car than any other brand on it. Builds like this were rolling business cards for Japanese tuning houses, and this FD makes the case for Pan Speed’s catalog about as directly as a car can.
GalleryPhotos by Christopher Jue
