By Peter N.

Pros:

• Road-hugging handling
• Head-turning styling
• Crisp sound system

Cons:

• Minor fit and finish details have room for improvement
• Rear seats not for tall people

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Beating rhythmically underneath the hood is the heart of the the RX-7 and RX-8 — a Wankel rotary engine. Wankel is such a funny sounding name, but the rotary engine (originally conceived and developed by Dr. Felix Wankel) is much more energy efficient than a typical combustion engine with pistons and cylinders. In a piston engine, the same volume of space (the cylinder) alternately does four different jobs — intake, compression, combustion and exhaust. A rotary engine does these sam­e four jobs, but each one happens in its own part of the housing. It’s kind of like having a dedicated cylinder for each of the four jobs, with the piston moving continually from one to the next.

The Wankel engine has basically one moving part that just spins. And it has a higher power to weight ratio than any traditional engine. Mazda’s RENESIS engine in the RX-8 is remarkably smooth and high revving — all the way to 9,000 rpm — and offers a smaller engine footprint than traditional internal combustion engines. In fact, the packaging and styling that define the RX-8 would not have been possible had Mazda engineers chosen a conventional piston engine.

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By Gary Chan

Pros

• Rigid car
• Driving dynamics
• Driving position/seating
• Engine is turbine-like

Cons

• Fuel economy
• Oil consumption
• Small trunk and back seat
• Low height
• Low torque

I remember when a high school classmate got a brand new RX-7 in the mid 80’s … that was back when the BMW 320i and the Porsche 944’s were out … and have always liked the car especially the 3rd generation RX-7. Well, a lot has changed since then with updates and technology advances so I was excited to be able to drive this 40th Anniversary Edition. Having never driven a RX-7/8, I was excited to learn how a rotary felt and the driving dynamics of the RX-8. The last Mazda I drove was the phenomenal Mazdaspeed3. Thus, the bar was set high.

Driving Impressions
The gray metallic color of the car camouflages the sportiness of the car. Who would suspect a gray-colored Japanese car to perform so well; lucky for me, I never garnered any interest from the police.

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Sometimes you just have to let it all hang out. Sometimes you are inspired to drive the wheels off a car because you just can. And there are the times when it all comes together and you know everything is just right in the motoring universe. Such was the case when I took Mazda’s 40th Anniversary Edition RX-8 to (of all places) Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca located in Monterey, CA. Read the rest of this entry »

MAZDA FURAI CONCEPT AND NEW MAZDA RX-8 TO MAKE WORLD DEBUT AT 2008 NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW

HIROSHIMA, Japan, December 12, 2007 – Mazda Motor Corporation will showcase the world premieres of the Mazda Furai concept vehicle and the heavily revised new Mazda RX-8 sports car at the 2008 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), to be held in Detroit from Sunday, January 13 through Sunday, January 27, 2008. On the heels of its show-stopping debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show in October, the Mazda Taiki concept vehicle also will make its North American debut, the first time it has been shown outside Japan. Additionally, Mazda will have a special display of racecars on its stand during the press days, and the full lineup of production cars for consumers to sample on the public days.