Really ridiculous car.

So I was doing some research the other day on the internet and I found some stats and information about the 1991 Mazda 787B. I have always loved that car. My love was refreshed when I drove the car in GT3 on my PS2. The car was probably the best handling car in the game. It was dead-on money from the get go. Well, the stats I uncovered help explain how/why it was such a great car. You know how important I think power-weight ratios are. Well, the 787B was ridiculous. It had a curb weight of 1,831 pounds. It had a R26B engine (*four* rotor, 2.6 liters) that put out 700 horsepower and 448 ft-lbs of torque. From 2.6 liters mind you. Normally aspirated (no turbos). Unreal. If you do the math you'll find that gives the 787 a power-weight ratio of 2.6. Well on my chart/spreadsheet (which covers nearly 600 cars (and growing), both street and race cars) that puts it fourth on the list. And the three vehicles ahead of it don't (or at least shouldn't) really count. First on my list is Steph Papadakis' drag (AEM) Civic (with a twin-turbo 3.3 liter NSX V-6) at 1.5. Second is the 2005 Lol-Ford Champ car at 2.0. Third is a MV Agusta (1000 cc) race bike at 2.4. Those are the only three vehicles with a better power-weight ratio than a 1991 Mazda Le Mans car. Crazy. Also if you look at power-displacement, the car put out 269 horsepower per liter. Some perspective: Honda S2000 (2002 MY), 120 hp/L; BMW M3 CSL, 113 hp/L; Ferrari Enzo, 108 hp/L; Porsche Carrera GT, 106 hp/L; Porsche 911 GT3 (996), 106 hp/L; BMW M3 (E46), 104 hp/L; BMW M5/M6, 100 hp/L; Audi RS4 (2007 MY), 99 hp/L. Those are all normally aspirated cars. Even if you go to forced induction cars, they still can't touch the R26B: Mitsubishi Evo (IX), 143 hp/L; Porsche 911 GT2 (996), 133 hp/L; Subaru STi, 120 hp/L; Subaru WRX, 114 hp/L; Audi RS6, 107 hp/L; Audi S4 (B5), 93 hp/L. The rotary engine really is quite a technological marvel. The 3rd generation RX-7 (turbocharged) had a power-displacement ratio of 196 hp/L and the (new) RX-8 (normally aspirated) has one of 182 hp/L. Pretty damn impressive. There are some issues with oil consumption as well as sub-par fuel mileage, but I think that doesn't take away from how insane the rotary engines are. The 787B is one of the most ridiculous cars of all time. I love it.

787 at Le Mans - 1991. 

Le Mans - 1991. 

Generations of rotary power. 

Banged up baby.

So I posted a couple pictures of my beat up baby (see below). It doesn't look too bad. And obviously it could have been a lot worse (imagine if I had been a 1/2 second later). I guessed the damage would be around $2,500. One estimate I got was $2,192 and the other was $2,349, so I guess my estimate was pretty close. I'm still waiting on the (his) insurance to get everything in line so I can take it into the shop and get it taken care of. She'll be out of commission for five days. I'm a little disappointed because the options to repair the quarter panel are (1) bend it out and paint and buff it up to fix it, or (2) since it is a unibody, cut out the quarter panel and weld a new panel back in. I don't particularly like either option, but I guess there is not anything I can really do about it. I'll let you know when after she gets fixed...

Banged up baby. 

Banged up baby (2).