Mazda introduced the RX-7 in 1978 as a sports car powered by a rotary engine.
The first-generation RX-7, known internally as the SA22C and marketed in Japan as the Savanna RX-7, used a front-mounted rotary engine driving the rear wheels. Its compact Wankel engine allowed a low hood and helped give the car balanced sports-car proportions. Mazda had developed deep expertise with rotary power after obtaining a license from NSU and Felix Wankel's work.
The RX-7 became Mazda's best-known rotary-powered road car and continued through three generations until production ended in 2002. Its rotary engine was not the first such engine in a production automobile, but Mazda became the manufacturer most strongly associated with making the technology practical and widely recognizable.