Original and Unused: Works 1985 Mazda RX-7 Evo Group B Heads to Auction

Images by Rowan Horncastle, courtesy RM Sotheby’s

This magnificent 1985 Mazda RX-7 Evo Group B works car will head to auction in September, at RM Sotheby’s’ London sale.

It’s an interesting one, and for a very different reason than you may expect – it’s never been raced.

In Belgium during 1984, Mazda Rally Team Europe embarked on a project to enter the bonkers Group B competition, led by Achim Warmbold. To go racing, they needed to build 20 cars for Group B homologation. Only 7 of their RX-7 Evos are believed to have been fully assembled, racing in 1984 and ’85. This car, chassis MRTE 019, is one of those seven.

When Group B was disestablished by the FIA at the end of 1986, MRTE 019 was kept at Mazda Rally Team Europe in Belgium. It then went to Switzerland, where it was put on display, before moving into a private collection, making a brief stop in Scandinavia and eventually making its way to David Sutton.

Sutton spent some time pulling the car apart and putting it back together again to figure out exactly what it was and what was needed to bring it back to perfection. At this point, it was basically a time capsule, having never been used and subjected to the rigours of high level motorsport, so Sutton entrusted it to a very gentle restoration to bring it to absolutely correct Works specification.

That leaves us with somewhat of an anomaly. We’d love to hear the RX-7 Evo’s 13B twin-rotor Wankel screaming around race tracks. On the other hand, the car’s an incredibly correct and original historical artefact, which is unique in the world of motorsport.

RM Sotheby’s are expecting it to go for between £170,000 and £190,000 when it’s put up for sale at their London auction in September. For the full details, see their website here.

Images by Rowan Horncastle, courtesy RM Sotheby’s