The FD-generation Mazda RX-7 is one of the many iconic performance cars out of Japan from the 1990s and early 2000s and thanks to the 25-year rule, examples have started to arrive in the United States.

During its production run, Mazda produced a touch under 69,000 examples of the FD RX-7 and it is well revered in enthusiast circles. This particular example has an interesting history, not least because of how cheap it was for the current owner.

In a recent episode of Hoonigan Autofocus, the owner reveals he purchased the car back in 2013 while he was a part of the armed forces and stationed in Japan. He paid just $1,500 for it, barely anything for a car with this sort of cult following as well as one that was fully functional and driveable.

While he owned the car in Japan, it was fitted with a host of modifications and received a brand new paint scheme in the same color of blue as a Honda CR-Z. When it came time to import it into the United States, he had to remove some of the aftermarket parts so it would slide through the ports without attracting too much attention. Once it landed in the U.S., it was overhauled with a plethora of upgrades and looks absolutely extraordinary.

As standard, the RX-7 left Mazda’s factory with a 1.3-liter twin-turbocharged twin-rotor engine producing 252 hp and 217 lb-ft (294 Nm) in JDM specification. This example, though, features a host of powertrain modifications and offers up much more power than that.