Rob Dahm's Mazda RX-7 Has Broken The Rotary Half-Mile Record

Last week, this bonkers rotary Mazda produced 835hp at the wheels on a dyno, and now, Dahm has put that power down on the half-mile.

The RX-7 hit 177mph from a standing start, beating the previous rotary record of 174mph. He managed it despite short-shifting in second, so there’s a chance 177mph can be beaten. We’d love to see it go even faster.

It hasn’t been plain sailing for the car up to this point, though. In the video, Dahm starts listing some of the faults he’s had to fix recently, which makes it all the more amazing that he drove the car over a hundred miles to the track before posting a record-breaking time. Then there are the issues Dahm had with the engine going ‘missing’ a couple of years back.

After the long and complicated journey this car has been through, it’s great to finally see it driven in anger.