Mad Mike’s ‘MadBul’ RX-7 is a modified culture icon. This year, the ace Kiwi drifter brought it along to Goodwood – watch it here!
If you’re into Japanese cars, drifting, or just the modified scene in general, you’ll probably have heard of Mad Mike. Mike Whiddett (to give him his *actual* name) is a hugely talented precision driver from New Zealand, and over the years he and his team have built some of the wildest modified Mazdas on the planet.
There’s the BadBul RX-8, the RadBul MX-5 Miata, and freshly-unveiled quad-rotor Mazda3 amongst others, but it all started with this… the MadBul RX-7 FD.
Mad Mike’s ‘MadBul’ RX-7 Specs
As you can imagine, given that this build is now way over a decade old, the MadBul RX-7 has gone through various iterations in the past. At one point, it even wore a retro Rocket Bunny front fascia which harked back to the classic RX-3. Throughout the years though (well, since 2009), one thing that hasn’t changed is the monster that lurks beneath the hood.
What you’ll find there is a custom-built, 26B quad-rotor engine that outputs 537hp and revs up to five figures. To achieve that, it makes use of hardware such as PPRE custom end and center plates, uprated high-compression 13B-MSP rotors, EFI Hardware throttle bodies, and a Haltech Elite ECU (plus plenty more besides!). On top of that, a 3.5” stainless steel exhaust system helps the MadBul to sing even louder.
The powertrain hooks up to a HKS 6-speed manual transmission, complete with OS Giken 1.5-way LSD. Its coilovers are supplied by KW Suspension whereas the custom ‘drift spec’ arms come from Megan Racing. And, as any drift vehicle should, the MadBul also has a hydraulic handbrake onboard.
Mad Mike’s RX-7 FD before it got the quad-rotor.
The History Behind Mad Mike’s RX-7
As we’ve alluded to, Mad Mike has owned this car since the very beginning of his career. This is the same chassis which brought him his debut in professional-level international drifting, way back at the Irwindale D1 GP all-star event in 2007! It only took two years for Mike to get up to speed, as in 2009 he and this FD took home the Formula Drift Asia championship title. From there, his stardom only ever grew, culminating in more success such as winning the 2018 Formula Drift Japan series outright.
So, while many other project cars have joined his expanding garage over the years, the MadBul RX-7 remains *the* Mad Mike car. Watch it tackle the Goodwood hill climb in the video below!
