HOONIGAN Drives (and Breaks) an 1,100 Horsepower 1988 Mazda RX-7

Twin-Turbo LSX RX-7 magnificently walks the line between drift and drag car.

HOONIGAN’s Daily Transmission includes some highly entertaining videos that catalog builds, people, and hooning. Lots of hooning. On this episode, the Daily Transmission host meets up with Will Tetro’s beastly 1,100-horsepower 1988 Mazda RX-7. Like so many RX-7 fans, Will dispatched with the Wankel engine and went big: a 403 cubic-inch LSx stroker fed by twin turbos.

You might think this is a drag or drift car from some of the cues on the gorgeous finish. However, Will built it to be a monster street car with some niceties like air conditioning, power-steering, heat, and the ability to enshroud entire city blocks in tire smoke. Just the basics, you know.

We love that Will incorporated even parts drifting and drag influence into the build. The exhaust dumping out the front fender and cut-down Pro Mod rear wing let you know he’s not messing around. The diffuser curls around in a spectacular design like that of the RE Amemiya FD RX-7. The bulging fenders house wide rubber on BC Forged wheels for a nice drifting look. All of it comes across as a unique take on any car, let alone a beautifully finished street car. Until Hert categorically breaks every item inside, the interior also looks fantastic.

Any car like this will make its engine the centerpiece and that’s certainly the case here. Originally a naturally aspirated car, Will gutted it to make room for the 403 LSx. The pair of 76-millimeter Turbonetics turbos make 530 horsepower at 5 psi on a street tune. However, if will cranks themup  to 13 pounds, they can push out around 1,100 horsepower.

Make sure to watch the whole video. You really don’t want to miss the two-step popping and banging or the burnout (attempt). Or Hert breaking everything and not just the interior trim.