Good taste in cars is not incompatible with age, as demonstrated by the 83-year-old woman who entered the circuit with her Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo. Another example is a Japanese woman who has just turned 80 and has been enjoying her life almost daily for a quarter of a century. Mazda RX-7.
But everything has an end and this veteran petrolhead has decided, voluntarily, to end his days behind the wheel and say goodbye forever to his iconic Japanese sports car.
He fell in love with his car while watching the anime ‘Initial D’
There are many stories that go viral every day, but Naoko Nishimoto’s is special, especially for those of us who are passionate about cars. At the end of last December, this Japanese turned 80 years old and celebrated her birthday accompanied by the press and Mazda workers at a Japanese firm dealership in Nagasaki.
He was present at the event Boys and Wheels TVwhich is the medium that has told Nishimoto’s story through a beautiful video published on its YouTube channel. It is the story of a true petrolhead who has been driving one of the Japanese sports cars that we all dream of for a quarter of a century almost daily. However, now that he has turned 80, he has decided to stop driving and say goodbye to his car.
It is a Mazda RX-7 that Nishimoto bought new in 1999, when she was 55 years old and she fell in love with it when she saw it in the anime. ‘Initial D’. She claims that before she couldn’t buy the car of her dreams because she had family obligations, but she always wanted a sports coupe and seeing the RX-7 in ‘Initial D’ was the crush she needed to encourage her to have a car like the one she wants. wanted to.
Since then, he has made 77,500 kilometers and he assures that he has enjoyed each of them, both daily when he went to work, as well as on mountain roads, long trips through Japan and even when going shopping when he retired.
When the owner of this beautiful silver RX-7 turned 78, she made the decision to give up her driving license at 80. It is something that very few people have the courage to do, even more so if we are talking about motor lovers, but Nishimoto has not changed his mind since making this decision, even though he continues to enjoy driving and drives very well, as reported on Boys and Wheels TV after getting into the RX-7 with her.
Logically, Nishimoto’s irrevocable decision meant never driving his RX-7 again, so he decided to say goodbye to it. Luckily, this impeccable RX-7 with few kilometers is not going to end up in the wrong hands nor is it going to be the typical “candy” that someone buys for an elderly person who can no longer drive again: Mazda has kept the car.
The Japanese company has decided to buy it to make Nishimoto’s story known and inspire other drivers, but also to take care of this sports car in the same way that its owner has done for 25 years. Mazda will also use it to take it to exhibitions and events. Of course, it is a nice way to value the firm’s heritage and a happy ending to Nishimoto’s story with his car.
“Today I celebrate my 80th birthday. My name is Naoko Nishimoto, thank you very much for coming here on such a special day. I got here today in my RX-7, but I’ll be leaving on my own. This car has been my companion for 25 years. Today we say goodbye. Two years ago, when I was 78, I decided to give my driver’s license back at 80. I’ve enjoyed driving even more these past two years, so I don’t regret letting it go. Finally, to my RX-7, I want to say: thank you for 25 wonderful years. Thank you, RX-7,” Nishimoto commented at the car’s delivery ceremony to Mazda.
Dear Madam, for 25 years, you have loved and cherished your Mazda RX-7, treating it as a true companion, we sincerely thank you. “Since he obtained his driving license in 1966, his passion and affection for automobiles has never wavered and this has inspired us deeply,” he said. Masahiro Moropresident and CEO of Mazda, through a letter that a brand official read at the ceremony.
