This 3-Rotor Mazda RX-7 Backfires The Cops Came: “Do It Again!”
Rob Dahm is certainly a Mazda Rotary engine connoisseur with plenty of experience driving, racing, and building Rotary-powered machines. His four-rotor RX-7 made waves when he started the build a few years ago, and has become so popular that even Ken Block, racer and owner of Hoonigan, set up a race against Dahm in his Hoonicorn.
This race resulted in minor damage to the four-rotor RX-7, which was highly based on Block’s Hoonicorn, but that hasn’t stopped the YouTuber from pushing further with his builds.
In his latest video, Dahm shows us a few changes he’s making to his radiator on the 3-rotor to give its large turbo the chance to get some cooler air, while also making it easier to bleed the rad. A few minutes of ECU tinkering later, and Rob is now focussing on starting the machine, although this is pushed back to the next day thanks to the cold temperatures not mixing well with the E85 fuel the car’s using. The car starts, but he’s battling ECU and sensor issues.
The end of the video is where the fun starts, though. The RX-7 is pulled outside for a bit of testing, and while he’s turning the engine over, it backfires loudly. Rob doesn’t flinch whatsoever, despite the cameraman being startled by the loud bang. It happens again, and unsurprisingly, the cops turn up.
“Not the first time that’s happened,” Rob tells the police as they roll up. He explains what’s going on to the police who are very interested in his cars, and they ask him to do it again before they get a tour around his shop. The car eventually starts as the police watch it, smiling from ear to ear.
“It was meant to be!” Dahm exclaims before laughing about how last time that happened, he was wearing a tutu. “That was our good luck charm,” he ends.