The road known as the Tail of the Dragon, at Deal's Gap, is one of America's greatest national treasures. Located high in the mountains and straddling the Tennessee/North Carolina border, the Dragon (as it's referred to) is an 11-mile stretch consisting of 318 tight turns with numerous elevation changes. All of which brings gearheads to a state of nirvana.
Enter Ashley Brown's ridiculously sweet and rare third-generation 1994 Mazda RX-7 R2 edition. Now meet Ashley Brown. Take our word for it, Ashley is female. And no, she's not some ditzy automatic E55-driving model. She's the real deal and not only does she probably know more about cars than you, she's probably much better looking.
Brown is a 25-year-old financial planner with her own company. How did she come to love cars so much? "As a child, I preferred to play with my Matchbox cars and ride my horses rather than play with dolls or dress up," she says. Brown's father was a big influence, as he was in the auto business for a while and owned many interesting cars, including a 1967 GTO. Around the time she graduated from high school, Brown learned about-and became hopelessly enamored with-the rotary engine.
This led to procuring her first RX-7, which she used as a daily driver and lapped at Watkins Glen on weekends. In November 2003, Brown spotted this black beauty on eBay. Luckily, its previous owner had babied the car. In Brown's possession, this FD now sees more action than ever before. "It enjoys the status of a cherished pet or spoiled child, though it's not treated like a pretty painting on a wall," says Brown. "This car is driven enthusiastically and is thoroughly enjoyed. No trailer queens here." Amen to that, sister.
Brown's interest lies in road racing and in what she calls "spirited mountain driving and hill climbs." But a full-on Pikes Peak set-up was out. She wanted to use this RX-7 as a daily ride. She needed a balanced car that could be pushed hard at Watkins Glen or Lime Rock, but just as easily pace down Main Street. "The goal was functional and athletic performance," says Brown. Which is where Mike Miranda of the speed shop E-shift Performance comes in.
We've featured E-shift's work before, most recently in our October 2007 issue with their monster 605hp time trial Toyota Supra Turbo. Brown trusted her rotary baby to Miranda's tuning prowess and meticulous attention to detail.
Brown considers herself a "hardcore devotee of the rotary" and she did her homework. She was adamant that E-shift retain the stock sequential twin turbo set-up. Eschewing the more common giant single turbo approach, Brown and E-shift stayed with the sequential twins to eliminate turbo lag, providing a smooth and more potent powerband. Brown says: "It's way sexier feeling and sounding." After upgrading the fuel system with a heavy-duty Walbro 255lph unit and 850cc/min fuel injectors from Nippon Denso, the maximum boost pressure was dialed up to a heady 17.25psi. To help control overboosting and spikes, an A'PEXi AVC-R boost controller was installed. Miranda also spent countless hours tuning the A'PEXi Power FC ECU to get everything dialed in just right.
Keeping the air conditioning system was important, as the cardinal rule in Brown's financial planning business is to avoid sweating in front of clients. So E-shift used custom piping to fit an A'PEXi front-mount intercooler and Koyo aluminum radiator around the stock air conditioning system. When it comes to her car, Brown spares no expense. She pointed out that the chrome dipping and polishing work on the engine created "a secret cache of shine for anyone lucky enough to get a peek under the hood."