But even as far as RX-7 mods go, Dahm’s is on another level. He set out to complete this project with a company known as FR Performance, led by NHRA legend and RX-7 guru Abel Ibarra, who would provide the manpower, craftsmanship, and years of rotary knowledge. Dahm would head the design and foot the project’s eye-watering $250,000 budget.
The body of the car, while maintaining much of the RX-7's trademark sex appeal, has been widened by nine inches and lengthened by an additional eight with the help of a completely custom tube frame that was hand-bent and welded into the existing body of the car.
The powerplant, however, isn’t a sculpted and kneaded mass like the exterior - it’s a goddamn sledgehammer. Project Ahura sports a 2.6 liter, 4-rotor that had to be custom ordered, as no factory 4-rotor currently exists on Earth. It’s mated to a Hollinger RD-6 sequential manual gearbox with straight cut gears, meaning that driving it will both be incredibly cool and deafening. You’ll need a clutch pedal to engage 1st gear, but everything after that is between you and the shifter. Eat it, Ferrari.
The all wheel drive part is taken care of with an E36 M3 front differential with Wavetech helical LSD guts, and a M5 rear differential, with another LSD, though Dahm didn’t specify its make or particular hooning capacity.
The most interesting part of the entire project, and one that Dahm himself touts as the pinnacle of this build, is the suspension. If you’re looking at pictures of Project Ahura’s front subframe and say to yourself, “Gee, this looks a lot like what’s on Ken Block’s Hoonicorn,” then congratulations, person that doesn’t exist, you’re absolutely correct. The entire suspension was made from the dimensions of the infamous 1,400 hp Hoonicorn used in that Gymkhana video that you’ve probably shared with your stoner buddies.
While the project is far from finished, Dahm maintains that the over-budget and ahead-of-schedule project should see its first rev on March 1st of 2017. Shortly thereafter, we’ll get a drive in it and hopefully not have to quickly apologize about breaking a quarter million dollar Mazda.
(Jalopnik.com)
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