CarBrandLogos archive · Mazda · 2003

MazdaMazda RX-8

Four seats, four doors, no turbo — the last rotary sold to the public.

Photo: IFCAR · Public domain

The story

A defining chapter in Mazda history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Mazda RX-8, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Replacing the RX-7 was an awkward brief. Emissions rules had already forced the FD out of most markets, and Mazda's answer in 2003 was not another two-seat turbocharged coupé but something considerably odder.

2003-2007 Mazda RX-8 02 · Hatsukari715 · Public domain

Design and engineering

The RX-8 kept the front-mid-engine, rear-drive layout and the rotary, but the engine was new: the Renesis, which moved the exhaust ports from the rotor housing's periphery to its side faces. That cleaned up the emissions and let the engine rev harder, at the cost of turbocharging, which the new port arrangement did not suit. What buyers got instead was a naturally aspirated 1.3-litre twin-rotor that pulled to 9,000 rpm and made almost no torque anywhere.

2010 Mazda RX-8 R3 -- 09-03-2009 · IFCAR · Public domain

In production

The body was the other surprise. Ikuo Maeda's design gave it four seats and rear-hinged half doors with no B-pillar, so adults could get into the back of what still had the proportions of a sports car. It was genuinely practical, brilliantly balanced, and won a string of awards including International Engine of the Year for the Renesis.

2008-2010 Mazda RX-8 coupe · OSX · Public domain

Legacy

It also drank oil by design, wore its apex seals if run cold and short, and returned fuel economy that looked absurd next to its power output. Owners who understood it kept them running; many did not. Tightening European emissions rules ended sales in 2010 and production finished in June 2012. No rotary-engined car has been sold since, other than as a range extender.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Engine

1.3&nbsp

Designer

Ikuo Maeda

Body

Quad coupé

Technical specification

The Mazda RX-8, in detail.

Production: February 2003 – June 2012
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: Quad coupé
Layout: Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Engine: 1.3 L Renesis twin-rotor
Transmission: 5-speed Manual transmission; manual ; 6-speed manual ; 4-speed Jatco JR405E transmission; RC4A-EL Automatic transmission; automatic ; 6-speed automatic
Designer: Ikuo Maeda ; Wu-Huang Chin (interior designer)
Assembly: Japan: Hiroshima (Hiroshima Plant)
Manufacturer: Mazda