1973 Mazda Rx-3 Savanna - Living Deviously

IT'S BLACK, FAST AND SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE

The dictionary defines devious as follows: "showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals." When it comes to ex-pro New Zealand motocross rider Johnny Burkhart's pride and joy RX-3 (with plate DVS3. Get it?), that definition seems to fit about as well as bald Britney would into the cast of American History X-sure she's got the haircut, but realistically, she would only be useful in a fight if you tied a stick to one end and used her as a club.

You see, there's nothing particularly underhanded about Johnny's super-fine rotary-its hoodless front happily displaying its immense manhood to the world doesn't mislead anyone. One look at the whopping turbocharger hanging off the side instantly grabs the interest of anyone who knows anything about cars. It's not so devious, but the definition of deviant is much closer to the money: "departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior." Now, we don't know (or want to know) what Johnny's libidinous proclivities entail, but if you heard his 13B screaming its ring out through the massive four-inch pipe, you'd know that it's not socially acceptable.

During the picturesque photo shoot at Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand's North Island (it's the one that blew its volcanic top a few years back) Johnny demonstrated just how much wick the black RX has got. When he went out to pass the photographer's pickup, a bit too much of the right foot sent the RX-3's back end out, and then back the other way as he shifted up another gear. That's what street-legal rotorvation, Kiwi-style, is all about.

"I've always been into RX-3 coupes and wanted one with big horsepower," says Johnny, who listed his aims for the build-up as "big rims, black, big horsepower, a strong and reliable street car". With 470 horsepower at the wheels running a relatively low 17psi boost setting, it's on the right track. The car laid down a sizzling 11.6-second pass on its first outing while still on low boost. Translate that to the street and it can easily be labeled deviant. But while some folk are happy living boring little lives and driving boring little cars, it just doesn't make sense to the rest of us.

An all-out build like this genuine Savanna is hard work by any standard, but try it while wearing plaster casts and it gets a lot more challenging. After a monster crash at New Zealand's Supercross Nationals, Johnny's dirt racing career was over, so he had some time on his, er, hands. "I built the RX-3 while in a cast," he says. "It was four big operations and seven months all bandaged up after dislocating and breaking both arms and wrists." Now he's got his sights set on some good quarter-mile fun to satisfy the speed bug-courtesy of an angry bridgeported 13B.