Is this 588bhp Mazda RX-7 built by RE Amemiya the ultimate Japanese tuner car?

Dear Gran Turismo fanatics: remember RE Amemiya? The now 50-year-old tuning house specialises in souping up rotary-powered Mazdas and sending them off to do battle in various Japanese motorsport theatres, like the Super GT or D1 Grand Prix. Occasionally, it applies its craft to road cars too. 

Take this 56,000-mile RX-7 ‘Spirit R Type A’, one of the finest variations of Mazda’s Wankel-powered cult hero. Just 1,044 were built - and only 53 painted in red - so it’s about as rare as good dialogue from Game of Thrones’ final season.

But while the original had to make do with the then-standard Japanese sports car output of 276bhp, Amemiya cranked this one up to 588bhp. It very nearly has as much power as a Porsche Carrera GT and actually equals the German legend’s 0-62mph time of 3.5s. Yeah, quick.

Pop the bonnet and you’ll see lots of blue wires (like in Brian O’Conner’s Eclipse), and nestled beneath all that is a ‘13B-REW’ block that’s aided by a pair of HKS turbos, an Apexi ECU, ARC intercooler and bridge porting. If all of this sounds like gibberish to you, it basically means your eardrums are in for a serious assault. 

Things are just as bombastic on the design front, where a brutal aftermarket body kit has been stuck on to help with aero and cooling. There’s lots of lightweight focus too, with the bonnet, rear diffuser, taillight panel and sections of the wheel arches built from carbon. See that preposterously oversized rear wing? It’s also made from the good stuff, and is fully adjustable.

Smaller fixtures include, umm, a not-so-small Prodrive exhaust with light blue colouring for maximum effect and 17in forged alloys from Advan, behind which you’ll find red brake calipers and Bilstein suspension. There’s a tow hook up front too, in case you stick it in a ditch.

If you thought the cabin would take a calmer approach, we’re sorry to disappoint: one of the RX-7’s standout features is both its driving position and just how focused the interior is. You’re sat squat to the ground, scraping your buttocks against the road, while your legs are way out in front in a different postcode. 

The various switchgears are packed tightly beside you in a proper compact setup, and since this is an Amemiya-grade car, there are additional plus-sized readouts mounted atop the dashboard. You’ll never actually use them, obviously, but they’re cool to look at.

The red Recaro seats are made from carbon and Kevlar, and there’s a bespoke steering wheel from Nardi Personal. But the biggest change is the roll cage, which stretches right up to the passengers and isn’t at all intimidating.

This very car is going under the hammer via Sydney-based boutique car dealership Axxle for an estimated price of just under £200,000, or what you’re expected to pay for a one-bed just outside the M25 these days. We know which we’d rather have…