The R100 isn’t terribly well-known over here, but up in Canada, it has more of a cult following. One of the young devotees was Rod Nielsen, a builder and road racer from Abbotsford, British Columbia. Growing up, he grew fond of this “weird, disposable car” and sought to pick one up once he had the funds and the tools to turn it into an attention-grabbing machine.

Fast forward a few years, and Nielsen had built Hot Rod’s Restos, one of British Columbia’s best speed shops. With the know-how accumulated over the years and the good fortune of finding a clean, rust-free R100, he set out to turn it into the wildest version of the classic Mazda anyone has ever seen. The body would sit for a decade before Nielsen truly got working on it; first implanting a 600-horsepower 13B before replacing it with something a bit larger, a bit more powerful, and a lot more exotic. If this car was to be a head-turner, it had to have the best of everything.

The powerplant, as supplied by Force Fed Performance, is none other than a three-rotor, 2.0-liter 20B. First came a mild bridgeport, a set of lightened rotors, and a Rotary Works 90mm throttle body. Pressuring the intake charge is a 72mm BorgWarner S400 SX-E turbocharger; the fuel is metered out via three primary injectors, three secondary injectors, and a set of Aeromotive 450 fuel pumps. When all that forced air and three-rotor shriek is funneled through a Turbosmart 60mm wastegate and a 4-inch exhaust, the sound is sonorous — even a little intimidating.

To keep the whole system working smoothly, Nielsen employed a Microtech LT-16c ECU. All the relevant information — a GPS speedometer and a full data log — is relayed via the Microtech 7-inch LTC Pro Dash display mounted above the steering column. It is just one of the many items in the cabin that one can spend hours drooling over.

At just 18 pounds of boost, the 20B makes 700-plus wheel horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque. Full boost is available from 3,800 rpm, and 7,500 is the current redline. In the future, he aims to crank the boost up to 35 psi and produce 1,000 whp. However, it’s tough to even imagine what this 2,400-pound monster would be like with another 300 horsepower available, since it’s a bit of a handful as-is.

To try and administer the power available without ending up in the weeds, Nielsen went with an odd choice of rear wheels and tires. “To keep a classic look, I wanted to keep small wheels, but there weren’t any DOT tires wide enough for the power available,” he says. So, he opted for a pair of HRR Twin-Rim three-piece wheels measuring 16 x 16 inches. Though there’s two wheels adorning each rear axle, each wheel uses two tires that share the same air. Perhaps the meanest dually setup seen in recent years.

Wrapped in four 205/40ZR16 Falken Azenis tires, the rear axle does a decent job deploying the rotary’s torque. The Fuel Safe Systems 18-gallon cell with a Radium Engineering fuel cell surge tank helps weigh the axle down slightly, and the Torsen LSD gets all four tires working properly. Of course, with this level of development, Nielsen wisely took the weight distribution into account.

“I placed the driver’s seat in the quarter window and the engine behind the front spindles to transfer weight to the rear as effectively as possible. With me in the car, the weight distribution comes out to 48 front/52 rear,” he adds. That rearward bias helps minimize the potential for wheel spin, and that, combined with a set of 3.52 gears, ensure the car leaves the line in a hurry.

Aggressive clutch-dumping and violent launches come courtesy of a T56 Magnum, fitted with a twin-disc from Competition Clutch and a QA1 carbon driveshaft. However, the garden-variety gearbox is made special with a SI sequential setup. Since the gearbox isn’t faceplated, Nielsen still uses a minor dab of the clutch when upshifting; however, the rate of acceleration goes through the roof with this setup.

Big power shows itself at higher speeds, though. At Auto Club Speedway, where Nielsen first drove it in anger, he was able to stretch the R100’s legs and reached 147 miles an hour on the banking. One must only imagine the characteristics the broad rear tires and short wheelbase bring at those speeds. This was at its public debut at SevenStock 20, an LA-based Mazda meetup. Nielsen aims to attend, and hopefully win, the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge in the near future. He also plans to attend — and drop jaws at — a few hillclimbs and autocrosses in the Vancouver region.

Of course, the aim was always road course performance. So, that straight-line speed had to be complemented by appropriately athletic footwork. QA1 four-way adjustable coilovers dot all four corners, and the front axle is decorated with 16 x 8-inch Bogart RR wheels housing Wilwood Dynapro six-piston brakes. Keeping them in constant contact with the course is JOES Racing upper control arms, and custom lower control arms.

The rearend uses an interesting hodgepodge of parts. The Winters 10-inch quick-change is complemented with BSB goodies, QA1 four-way coilovers, and a NASCAR-style splined sway bar. All necessities when dealing with such outrageous power.

However, Nielsen wanted to create more than just a track toy. After all, the short overhangs, the boxy shape, and the simple styling draw the eye on their own. These classic shapes provided Nielsen with an appealing aesthetic platform he could exercise some of his creativity with, and one he was even able to win a few awards with.

The body first received the swollen additions that made it look like it’d been living in the gym for the past year. Nielsen fashioned them himself; including the front end, rear flares, hood, wing, and rear bumper. Doused in a coat of Sherwin Williams pearl white, the accentuated curves of the car aren’t exactly garish, but they do draw the eye.

That subdued base color contrasts the cobalt blue accents provided by House of Kolor, as well as the gold touches from Cerakote here and there. It makes for an intriguing exterior that draws the viewer into an interior that’s twice as striking.

The perforated wheel from JOES Racing Products and the swiss-cheesed seats — complements of Kirkey Racing — are the first-noticed aspects of the cabin. Those punched holes add style and trim heft in equal measure, and so Nielsen did the same to his own floorboards and surrounding trim pieces. The interior is pure Buck Rogers, and part of why the car did as well as it did at this year’s Battle of the Builders.

The combination of looks, speed, and tasteful additions all culminated in winning this years’ Sport Compact class in the SEMA Battle of the Builders, landing Nielsen in the Top 4 overall. What’s more, the exposure has resulted in an onslaught of calls and requests from clients across the globe. The attention and added work load are enough for Nielsen, amid the ever-growing workload, to find the enthusiasm to get the R100 in shape for Pikes Peak — just one of his aims for the near future. At the very least, it’ll be the coolest car climbing to the top of the 14,114-feet peak.