The Fast and the Furious: Salt Rock style

Salt Rock’s Gareth Bargate has gone from watching Vin Diesel tear through Tokyo in a Mazda RX7 to owning one himself.

A 1993 model of the diminutive Japanese sportscar was featured in the 2006 film The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and Bargate’s 1997 edition has become its own cinema for motoring enthusiasts on North Coast roads.

The RX7 series was a hugely popular model during its production in Japan between 1978 and 2002, with more than 800 000 manufactured, mostly for the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM).

It was never sold in South Africa, so seeing one locally is rare and often draws nods of appreciation or comments, said Bargate.

“Nearly every time I drive it, I either have someone waving and giving a thumbs up because it’s “the car from Fast and Furious”, or stopping and asking what it is,” he said.

“I’ve always liked the iconic JDM sports cars, including the RX7. I liked the uniqueness of it – it’s not something you see every day. Driving it feels like an occasion.”

The RX7 is a rotary engine powered, rear-wheel drive car that can be easily discerned by its signature pop-up headlights and sleek design.

“The original designer mentioned in an interview that the Jaguar E-Type was his favourite car, and he took a lot of design inspiration from it. Since the E-Type is often considered one of the best looking car designs ever made, that’s some pretty good inspiration.”

Bargate’s model, a Sunlight Silver Metallio 1997 FD3S Type RS – Special Edition, is as special as the name suggests and includes different suspension, bigger brakes and slightly changed gear ratios.

It was owned by a family in Tokyo between 1997 and 2017 before being imported by a friend of Bargate’s, from whom he bought it in 2021.

The car is fully stock in appearance and still has the original 13B rotary engine, although it has been converted from twin to single turbo, producing around 400 horsepower.

“Many people tend to swap out the rotary engine due to reliability issues, but I’ve been adamant on keeping the engine intended for the car.”

Bargate plans to eventually respray it and replace the seats as his height makes it difficult to sit comfortably.

But little else has changed in his pocket-sized classic that has amazingly done just around 100 000 kilometres in its 26-year lifespan.

Bargate admits the fuel consumption is far from efficient and perhaps that goes some way to explaining the mileage.

He has yet to take it around a track, but it has featured in many car shows and even the occasional matric dance.

Although the RX7 is Bargate’s current collectible, he has also owned a 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX and 2012 WRX STi, with the Nissan R35 GTR next on the shopping list.

Originally from Durban, Bargate thinks his love of cars stems from the early Need For Speed games which became popular in his early teens.

His passion for collecting has led to friends calling him an ‘unreliable collector’, such is his proclivity for seeking out unreliable cars.

When not working as an engineering technician and draftsman, you can find him taking photographs of properties for sale, landscapes and, you’ve guessed it, cars.

Give him a wave next time you see him whiz by.

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