Mazda RX-7 FD Type RB · Automobile History

Overview

The Type RB was a Japanese-market grade within the third-generation Mazda RX-7 (FD). Its place in the later range was below the Type R, retaining rotary power while offering different equipment and transmission choices. Mazda’s January 1999 range made the RB the sole grade available with an automatic transmission. The manual could also be ordered with an S-package. These are configurations within the Type RB grade, rather than separate generations. Mazda’s range announcement.

Early Type RB and body configuration

Toyota’s GAZOO catalogue documents the Type RB in the January 1996 ɛ̃fini RX-7 range. That entry identifies a three-door, four-seat car with rear-wheel drive, a five-speed manual and a 1,308 cc rotary engine. It distinguishes the basic RB from the better-equipped RB Bathurst. The accompanying range description records increased manual-transmission engine output and revised rear lamps; the large rear spoiler fitted to other grades was not standard on the basic RB. These details describe the January 1996 Japanese catalogue specification, not every subsequent Type RB. GAZOO’s historical catalogue.

The RB therefore predates the January 1999 facelift. Its grade name should not be used as a synonym for that later body revision, nor should RB Bathurst equipment automatically be attributed to an ordinary RB.

Engine and transmission

Mazda’s 18 October 2000 Japanese specification lists the sequential twin-turbo 13B-REW rotary engine with three Type RB configurations:

Type RB five-speed manual: 195 kW (265 PS).
Type RB electronically controlled four-speed automatic: 188 kW (255 PS).
Type RB S-package five-speed manual: 195 kW (265 PS).

The automatic’s lower rating is explicit; the S-package did not adopt the contemporary Type R’s 280 PS rating. These figures belong to this dated Japanese specification and should not be applied indiscriminately to export cars or earlier builds. Mazda’s October 2000 specification table.

January 1999 revision and S-package

Announced on 15 December 1998 for sale from 21 January 1999, the revised range brought a redesigned front bumper and standard passenger airbags. Mazda distinguished the RB’s standard dampers from the Type R’s firmer specification and the RS’s Bilstein units.

For the manual RB, Mazda described the optional S-package as adding Type R equipment, specifically including the adjustable large rear spoiler and front fog lamps. Its separate specification and price listing retained the RB’s 265 PS engine. The package designation therefore matters when identifying a car’s original equipment. Mazda’s December 1998 announcement.

October 2000 development

The October 2000 update revised RB damper settings and added electronic brake-force distribution to the four-wheel ABS. Door reinforcement and a clutch-start interlock for manual cars accompanied the changes. Mazda specifically identified the RB S-package and automatic RB among versions receiving revised seat-centre fabric. The release confirms that both transmissions and the manual S-package remained separately listed at that date. Mazda’s October 2000 announcement.

Historical context and dating

Mazda’s FD history describes a development programme centred on low weight, a front-mid-engine layout and aluminium double-wishbone suspension. It records the end of RX-7 production in August 2002. That is the generation’s endpoint, not evidence of an identical final production date for every grade. Mazda’s FD history.

The March 2002 announcement of the final Spirit R series described the closing range in terms of Spirit R and Type R Bathurst. It does not establish the last Type RB assembly date. The Spirit R Type C was a separately named four-seat automatic edition, not another name for Type RB. Mazda’s final-series announcement.

Taken together, the period specifications show the RB’s historical role as the less expensive, more broadly configured member of the late FD range. Calendar announcement dates, on-sale dates and individual build dates remain distinct; this record does not assign an unsupported grade-wide production total or exact final assembly date.