- With production slated to end next June, Mazda says the new RX-8 Spirit R will be the final special edition of its four-door four-passenger rotary sports car.
- The RX-8 Spirit R is named after the final edition of the earlier RX-7.
- Features include special seats and colored alloy wheels.
HIROSHIMA, Japan — With production slated to end next June, Mazda says the new RX-8 Spirit R will be the final special edition of its four-door four-passenger rotary sports car. Prices start at $40,675 with a six-speed automatic transmission and $42,400 with a six-speed manual.
When the RX-8 Spirit R goes on sale in Japan in late November, Mazda will offer the car in only two grades, including an RX-8 Type G, until production ends.
Mazda said it expects to sell 1,000 units of the RX-8 Spirit R, which it said is named after the final edition of the earlier RX-7.
The RX-8 Spirit R gets several exclusive features, including special seats and colored alloy wheels, as well as standard side airbags and curtains.
The manual-transmission model, which is based on the Mazda RX-8 RS, is fitted with custom Recaro sport bucket seats and 19-inch bronze alloy wheels with 225/40R19 performance tires.
The automatic version, which is based on the Mazda RX-8 Type E, gets black leather seats and steering wheel with red stitching, sport suspension, larger brakes and 18-inch gun metallic alloy wheels fitted with 225/45R18 tires.
Both models feature red brake calipers, black headlamp and foglamp bezels, and piano-black interior trim.
Inside Line says: And so the last of Mazda's rotary-engine sports cars does a slow dissolve...
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dr1vn says:
01:32 AM, 11/13/2011
sadly rotary engines are greatly misunderstood. and in factory form they are weak ive built quite a few that were more than a match for the v-8. mazda had a purpose to make the renesis rx8 motor to make better emissions ect with out turbo but with the nearly same power level as factory 93-95 rx7 ... but that car had alot more going for it as far as looks hidden horse power and price as well as purpose intended ./// my 2 cents would be to ditch the 6 port design entirely go back to 3mm apex seals {whitch would instantly solve durability} make it a 3 rotor based on 12 a instead of 13b use cylinder deativatoin technogy lower compression to 9.5-1 use thier proposed turbo charger based on electric motor and make it large single such as t04 all alumninum design whitch in aftermarket is nearly same pricealso 9lb flywheel . ford and chevy spent a ton to uprade thier motors and mazda did not as much . how about making it an optional engine in miata wouldnt that be nice .!! and never make same mistake nissan made by connecting all car funtions to computer anti lock cruse control ect . whitch was exact reason they are not competing in scca gt3 racing due to fact they cant get aftermarket comp to work all those systems and get some hot rodding out of that motor. note on rx rotarys 79 all way through to new rx8s lot of parts interchange including bellhousing bolt pattern ect
chris723 says:
06:56 AM, 10/12/2011
I have an rx8, and I love the way it handles but the power just really brings sucks some of the fun out of it. The rotary engine is a cool and different design, but it has to many flaws. For the amount you pay for car you could get a camaro or mustang with much more power and reliability and better fuel economy. I think if Mazda wants to bring another "rx" model into the line up, they should scrap that engine and put a turbo six with say 300+hp. It would make it a formitable oppenent on the street.
pathos says:
05:30 PM, 10/11/2011
Hopefully Mazda doesn't forget how they tuned the sweet chassis of the RX-8. This car does remarkably well in magazine handling comparos. And I don't disagree with them. They do prefer Porsche and Lotus, but they are also way more expensive (new of course).
It'll be hard to keep the rotary alive with CAFE rearing it's head and the time bomb that is gas prices. However, I hope they do for some reason. Maybe because I like nearly all things automotive.
tdiluv says:
04:29 PM, 10/11/2011
A thousand units, why bother, just kill it !
lzks says:
05:54 AM, 10/11/2011
In fact, I plan to purchase the renesis rotary engine, turbo it and drop it into my 2100lbs mr2 spyder. All this will cost me 16,000 along with the price of mr2 spyder. And I'll have you fanboys bite the dust in your stupid bicycle.
lzks says:
05:48 AM, 10/11/2011
8 year old fanboys speaking blasphemy. Mazdaspeed3 engine into rx8?! Then it'll just be MS3 RWD edition. It's not just the fact that rotary defines rx8. Mazda loved rotary engine so much that despite its disadvantages and inefficiencies, they tried so hard to make it as good as piston engines as possible, and that's what makes it special. If you're so stuck up by lack of torque, drop a turbo and lose some weight and you got yourself a truly special car that'll easily outrun 350Z or whatever you fanboys are into these days.
elementrace says:
03:59 AM, 10/11/2011
If they can put a regular 4cylinder in there that can do 0-60 at least as fast as an Si I'd get one as a daily driver/school bus. If they can get a Mazdaspeed motor in there that will be really interesting.
It's the compromises of the wankel engine, no matter how minor, are a deal breaker for me. I want a mindlessly reliable car, simple as that.
5lv8 says:
08:28 PM, 10/10/2011
Many of my mechanic colleagues spoke highly of rotary engines also known as a Wankel engines. However, I have yet to see any real performance out of these engines. I heard up to three of them can be connected to increase power and torque, but Nissan continues to make the single rotary design. I doubt this engine was every successful because it always appears for a decade or two and then disappears again since its invention in 1929 in Germany. The horse power is not terrible, but the lack of any useful torque seems to be its Achilles' heel. Why spend $42,400 for this when a Boss 302 can be purchased for around $41,000-$44,000?
deathtollwrx says:
06:57 PM, 10/10/2011
$42,400 ? That's very expensive for a car with that kind of performance. No matter how well it handles it still has crappy gas mileage and poor acceleration. I really wanted to like this car when it first came out but the performance was a real drag. I also didn't like that it naturally consumes oil, That just seems odd.
I've seen a few fixed ones up here with nice exhaust modifications and they totally sounded heroic.
Every performance car in it's price range has better acceleration and better fuel economy. Like someone said earlier perhaps someone just figure out a way to put the MS3 2.3 Turbo in this puppy and make it go.
I hope Mazda attempts to make another car like this and I hope it will retain the handling and rear wheel drive. All we need to see is a nice small displacement four cylinder with a decent turbo. Perhaps the Toyobaru will spawn some competition from other companies such as Mazda as well as Honda.
I do however like the looks of this thing!
mini23 says:
04:15 PM, 10/10/2011
I used to own one of these. I made the mistake perhaps of buying the 1st yrs production.The car had a lot of teething problems that I understand were resolved in later yrs. My beef with this car was this. The rotory engine sounded weird to me. Also it lacked power unless you reved the bejesus out of it. It got lousy gas mileage although a racing beat air intake improved it a bit. It handled great though. Thing is my Mini Cooper S has been more reliable to own and it has a more usable power band. It also gets about 40% better gas mileage. it does not quite have the same handling as an RX8 but it's not far off.
Also I can improve it easily enough by the after market. Sad to see it go and hope Mazda will continue to commit to the rotary.