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Twin rotors and twin turbochargers. That potent combination is what Mazda Motors Corp.’s has put into its 1993 RX-7 sports car.

The RX-7 series, which began attracting the attention of sports car enthusiasts back in 1978, is the only car on the American market that retains the Wankel rotary-type engine.

The ’93 model is going to reach performance levels that will put it on a par with exotic motors cars.

It has power, speed, styling, and reasonable prices for this sort of automobile. It produces 255 horsepower and 217 foot-pounds of torque. It will zoom from zero to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds.

“It’s going to be one of the fastest production vehicles made,” said Terry Martin, sales manager for Tom Wood Mazda in Indianapolis. “For zero to 60, it’s going to be equivalent to the (Chevrolet Corvette) ZR-1.”

The completely redesigned two- passenger coupe will be powered by Mazda’s version of a twin-rotor Wankel, which it calls a 13-B motor. The dual-rotor power plant utilizes twin sequential turbocharging with intercooling, and is 55 horsepower more powerful than Mazda’s former twin-rotor engine that had one turbo. The torque is up from the previous engine’s 196 foot-pounds.

“It’s going to fit into a market that interests buyers of high-line sports cars,” said Jeff Roush, vice president and general manager of Tom Roush Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda. “These are the same guys that buy a (Nissan) 300 ZX, a Corvette or a Porsche.”

A major feature contributing to acceleration is the sequential turbocharging. Rather than have both blowers operate full force at the same time, only one is driven via exhaust gases at all times. The other operates at minimal output until more intake manifold pressure is needed.

At that point, valves in the exhaust system opens up and permits the exhaust gas flow to activate the second turbo. The sequential method of alternately driving the turbos permits the use of a smaller turbocharger that is quicker to build up intake manifold pressure at lower engine speeds.

The vehicle is just slightly shorter in wheelbase and overall length than the car it replaces, and the overall height is just a touch lower.

The resulting appearance is slick. Unfortunately, Indianapolis-area residents will have to wait until spring to get a hands-on view at the local Speedway, Tom Wood and Tom Roush dealerships. If you can’t wait, head for Los Angeles or Detroit.

The new RX-7 is on display now at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show in the Los Angeles Convention Center. That show runs through next Sunday. The RX-7 makes its Midwest debut Saturday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit’s Cobo Exposition Center. The Detroit show runs through Jan. 19.

“We begged them to give it to us for our (Indianapolis) show,” Martin said. “But they didn’t come through.”

The car being presented at Los Angeles and Detroit is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe. It has a 95.5-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 168.5 inches, and a height of 48.4 inches. The two-seater is a lean, mean machine with a low hood profile for minimum air drag. It weighs about 2,800 pounds.

The coupe is smaller than the 300 ZX and the Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000GT. Mazda had the good sense to retain rear-wheel drive, as running 255 horsepower through the front wheels of a 2,800-pound sports car is apt to produce something akin to a Wild West show when coming off the line on full throttle.

The driver/passenger compartment looks like a race-car cockpit with luxurious features.

The bucket seats encase the body for full lateral support in high-speed turns. The wheel seems to leap up into your hands. A stub-like gearshift lever is immediately off the driver’s right hand.

The tachometer and speedometer are both large, round gauges.

The tach, which has a sweep hand, is the highest gauge in the instrument panel. It is directly in front of thedriver. The speedometer is mounted slightly lower and to the right of the tach.

Dealers project th e RX-7 will account for between 5 percent and 10 percent of their overall Mazda sales. And the cost at this point is pure speculation.

“I don’t think they can get it under 30 ($30,000),” Martin said. “I’m looking for something around $31,000 to $32,000.”

“The base price might be under $30,000,” Roush said. “But by the time you get some options on it the car will be over that.”

Those numbers still will give Mazda an extremely competitive position. There are a number of sports cars with comparable performance characteristics, and most of them carry window stickers far above the RX-7’s $30,000 mark.