Blame it on the 1993 Montego blue RX-7 parked a block away from my childhood home--and the cover photo of the competition yellow mica R1 gracing one of the other monthly car magazines that year.

And then, in 1992 for the 1993 model year, Mazda's final FD-series RX-7 was born. First impressions were gleeful, with a return to purpose, performance, and unique styling that were sorely missing in ...