Emerging classic: Mazda RX8
The rotary engine’s swansong was Mazda’s quirky RX-8.
Buy one now while they’re cheap...
The definition of what exactly constitutes a classic will probably never be pinned down but something as unique as the oddball RX-8 will surely qualify on the grounds of technical innovation alone. Here we have a sports coupe with a pair of extra hidden suicide doors and seating for four, powered by a rotary engine containing just three moving parts which puts out 240 bhp... made by the sole Japanese car maker to be controlled by an American company.
The story of the RX-8 starts with the rebirth of the Mazda brand which began in 2003. The company’s official line even admits that the brand needed revitalising, especially in Europe and the process kicked off by platform sharing with Ford which generated the Fiestabased Mazda2, the Focus-based Mazda3 and the larger Mazda6 which although it used a Ford platform was not in fact based on the Mondeo as is often assumed.
The new models were all well regarded, providing Mazda with a massive boost in Europe which saw it post a 40 per cent sales increase in 2004. The MX-5 remained as popular as ever of course, but with the RX-7 having been axed in 2002 – and emissions regulations having seen it leave European markets in 1996 – the range was still lacking a real ‘halo’ model to embody the spirit of its new ‘zoom zoom’ advertising message.
The answer came in the shape of the RX-8 which was shown as a concept at the 2001 Detroit show and entered production in 2003. Despite the RX-7 having left production, a small but dedicated team had continued to work on development of the rotary engine with the aim of improving its efficiency and it was this which would become crucial to the project.
Although the RX-8 would effectively replace the RX-7 in the European market, it was an all-new design and was intriguingly different from anything else on sale at the time. Central to its unique appeal was the rotary engine of course, with its compact size allowing it to be mounted sufficiently far back in the vehicle for it to be classed as mid-engined.
The bodyshell incorporated a clever trick in offering four doors while still retaining the silhouette of a sports coupe, with a pair of rear ‘suicide’ doors opening to 80 degrees providing access to the rear seats.
With no B-pillar between the front and rear doors, bodyshell rigidity became an issue, so to retain torsional strength the design was based around a high central tunnel which formed a backbone structure. Diagonal reinforcements in the rear seat area were also incorporated and the result was an impressively stiff structure.
Since the 1970s Mazda had been the sole car maker to persevere with the Wankel rotary engine for production vehicles but despite years of R&D the rotary was struggling to meet economy and emissions targets, which was one reason why the RX-7 was withdrawn from European sale in 1996.
Behind the scenes though the development had continued and the RX-8 was powered by an updated version of the design. The development goal had been to provide the power output of the late-model twinturbocharged RX-7 models but without the turbos and with lower emissions too, which was a high bar to clear.
They managed it though, with the redesigned engine using a side exhaust port arrangement and ultra-fine injectors among other tricks and the redesigned engine given the name RENESIS, apparently standing for Rotary Engine Genesis.
Two models were offered, marketed simply enough as standard and High Power. The lesser of the two produced 192bhp at 7000 rpm, with the high Power turning in 231bhp at 8200rpm, both from the same twin-rotor, 1308cc unit. Previous
rotary engines had been regarded as peaky to drive, an issue which the Renesis partly addressed by offering 162 lbf.ft at 5000rpm in standard trim and 156 lbf.ft at 5500rpm in High Power guise, while both units cleared the Euro IV emissions standard. Drive was taken to a multi-link rear with a carboncomposite propshaft keeping the weight down. Talking of which, the RX-8 weighed in at 1420kg which translated into credible performance, with the High Power model sprinting to 62 mph in just 6.4 seconds and topping out at 146 mph.
The RX-8 remained a steady if rather niche seller for Mazda here in the UK and was facelifted in late 2008 for the 2009 model year, gaining stiffer bodyshell, revised suspension and a new gearbox plus the ‘R3’ tag. Despite the upgunned rotary having cleaned up its emissions act considerably though, its tailpipe was still too dirty for the Euro V emissions standards and so it disappeared from sale in Europe in 2009, with the last UK cars sold during 2010. By which time, UK buyers had scooped up some 14 per cent of the RX-8’s 186,632 worldwide sales.
Will it be replaced? It’s a continual on-off story which is set to run and run, with Mazda obviously not wanting to admit that it has consigned the rotary to history but focus currently seeming to be on conventional piston engines.