"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exuper

In the pursuit of perfection, it seems that sometimes, for every step forward, you take two steps back. Chase McGehee, of Savannah, Ga., has spent years building, tweaking and changing his 1993 Mazda RX-7 in an attempt to create the most perfect daily driver RX-7 in existence.

What you’ll notice about this RX-7 is what it doesn’t have. In a world full of extreme body kits, crazy wheels, and stuck on parts, it seems harder to keep something clean than to go way over the top. Chase shows that with time, skill, and self control, less is always more.

Starting with the heart of the beast, Chase spent his time adding to the fun and reliability of his rotary engine. Using a stock rotary motor, a set of 1999 Mazda turbos nicely upgrade the stock twin turbo setup the came from the factory. To bring air into the twin turbos, Fighters Garage provided a great new intake system with twin filters. These mandrel bent pieces free up some airflow and help clean up the engine bay.

Once the air enters the turbos, it is sent through custom built intercooler piping to a Precision front mount intercooler. The forced air enters a stock intake manifold and is expelled by a Turbosmart RacePort blow-off valve. On the exhaust end of the turbo system, a Bonez downpipe routes the gases away from the turbos and attaches to a full Racing Beat cat-back system. Control of the engine and boost management are provided by an Apex'i PowerFC tuned by Carter Racing and a Turbosmart EBoost 2.

Keeping all this horsepower in check, a set of Mocal Oil Coolers sit up front in the bumper, keeping the front-mounted intercooler company. The twin oil coolers, run in series, keep the motor running cool, even in the hottest stop-and-go traffic. A Mocal oil thermostat and all black braided lines keep everything looking stealth. Of course, you also need to keep the coolant at a suitable temperature, a task that the Koyo radiator has no problems with.

Chase and his RX7 have the horsepower, and can keep it all running cool, but what about getting the power to the ground? Of course, leaving nothing alone, he added a set of Eibach springs over some new Koni shocks. With the ride height just a little lower, the SSR wheels and slotted rotors really stand out. SSRs were chosen for their clean OEM styling and lightweight build. To slow everything down, a set of slotted rotors and Hawk green pads complement each other perfectly.

If all this hasn't piqued your interest, we know that the outside of this RX-7 leaves everyone in awe. Keeping the factory color scheme, the guys at CR Customs in Hinesville, Ga., added a Shine Auto Project Burnout KDW front bumper, Shine side skirts, and Shine rear bumper. Staying true to the principle that less is more, the stock antenna has been shaved and the entire car has been repainted using OEM paint. To the unknowing enthusiast, you may think that Mazda built them this way and that’s exactly what Chase wants you to think.

Under the factory flip-up headlight buckets lay a set of Knight Sport HIDs. These give the driver plenty of light at night and are complemented quite nicely by the upgraded running lights.

The inside, of course, is just as nicely appointed as the outside. A custom modified center console is home to the Apex'i PowerFC and Pioneer AVIC Z2 source unit. With every upgrade on the market, there is nothing this head unit doesn't do. IPod hookup, internal hard drive, camera, full navigation, you name it and the AVIC Z2 will do it.

Running off the AVIC are a full set of speakers, two custom-mounted amplifiers, and a hidden subwoofer. Sitting atop the steering column is the TurboSmart EBoost2 boost controller. This allows Chase to have both a low- and high-boost setting, which are adjustable on the fly. If that wasn't enough, it can also control the amount of boost applied in each gear and acts as a real-time boost gauge. A GReddy turbo timer helps cool everything down after the car is stopped and a Viper alarm keeps it safe at night.

While other people build over-the-top attention magnets, Chase has relied on his RX-7’s reserved elegance to catch stares. His car proves that less is more, and that the timeless lines of the Mazda sports car can be tweaked to perfection simply by chipping away to get to the core of the machine.