Barn find FD Mazda RX-7 R2 with 8,800 miles washed for the first time in 23 years

Since it’s Car Wash Day in Japan, we thought it was only appropriate to share this video of an amazing barn find FD Mazda RX-7 washed for the first time in over two decades. According to the video by WD Detailing, the owner bought the RX-7 new in 1994 and accrued 8,800 miles on the odometer. Apparently he got spooked by the car after going 140 mph (!). Scared for his life — maybe for what the car would tempt him to do — he parked the twin-turbo rotary and never drove it again.

The car was last registered in 1999, and in the years since it sat under a thick layer of dust and became home to several mice. Luckily, when the detailers got into the car they didn’t find too much rodent damage to the wiring. After discarding several mouse carcasses they give the car a thorough washing and polish the swirls out of the paint.

Also, this isn’t just a normal FD RX-7, but an R2 package. The top performance packaged offered on US-spec cars that year, it includes a strut tower brace, heavily bolstered suede seats, a much stiffer suspension, and more. This car even seems to have the original Pirelli tires mounted to the wheels.

The team get into every crevice, even going as far as to remove some interior bits to check for rodent damage. Fortunately, the famously brittle plastic pieces stay in tact during this process. To get the car truly roadworthy it’ll need a thorough mechanical evaluation. Replacing those rusted brake rotors, making sure the hoses and other rubber bits haven’t rotted, and seeing if those apex seals are still smooth will be key.

With regular museum-mileage FD RX-7s selling at auction hovering around the $100,000 range, and driver-mileage examples selling for over $70,000, this R2 might just be the perfect confluence for a record-setting FD.