Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the Mazda rotary’s special place in car culture.

Whether the engine of choice is a sweet ol’ factory-spec 10A or a wild, methanol-fuelled four-rotor 26B with a dinner plate sized turbo – or two, or more – strapped to the side, the rotary lives on in the hearts of enthusiasts all over the world almost a decade after the final RX-8 rolled off the assembly line. And given the size of this global enthusiast base, a world without the rotary seems like an impossibility, regardless of whether the unconventional engine ever makes it back into production.

As our automotive freedoms are lessened by each passing year, the rotary in its rawest – and rowdiest – form is something really worth celebrating. And today, on July 7 (7/7), we do just that.

Technically speaking, 7’s Day – which, like so many of our favorite facets of car culture, originated in Japan – is the Mazda RX-7’s time to shine, but you can think of it more as a celebration of all things Mazda rotary. So what better time than right now for Speedhunters to run with a rotary theme.

For the rest of July we’ll be bringing you a number of rotary-related stories in between our regular programming, kicking off with a sit down at Pan Speed with the imitable Komoriya-san.

On Tuesday evening, Dino is hitting up Daikoku and Umihotaru PAs in hope of a decent 7’s Day meet turnout, and likewise our friends at PrimeNYC.co will be chipping in with coverage from their 5th annual 7’s Day (night) cruise in New York City.

Look out for those stories and a whole bunch more as we celebrate the cult of rotary.

Brad Lord
Instagram: speedhunters_brad
brad@speedhunters.com