Mazda RX-8 as GT-style sports coupe gets a new rotary engine
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. -- These are incredible curves -- big and bulbous arched fenders that protrude laterally well beyond a curt roll of the front hood to articulate a large pair of low-profile tires pinned in place by gleaming five-spoke aluminum alloy wheels.
A brake vent, trailing in parallel pattern to the wheel arch like a parenthetical mark, tucks into the flank immediately behind the fender as an accent that suggests the need for speed control on a powerful sports car.
Another prominent wheel arch appears on the rear quarter while above the beltline there's a graceful stroke of the superstructure in the obvious style of a rakish GT coupe.
Put all of these sensuously warped body parts into one congruent package and you get the impression that the vehicle behind this curvaceous design must be a sports car imbued with keen strength and a nimble disposition.
And so it is.
Our test vehicle -- the RX-8, a slinky sports coupe from Mazda of Japan -- is an absolute screamer to drive, a high-revving sports car with perfect weight balance and an attitude that seems most satisfied when sent through a tortuously-wrought slalom course.
It's also a high-tech automotive wonder outfitted with a modern version of Felix Wankel's rotary engine.
And it's a two-door sports car that cleverly conceals a four-door design with the space and practicality of a sedan.
The RX-8 seems like deja vu all over again because the essence of Mazda's favored rotary-powered RX-7 hatchback sports car, which expired in 1995, lives again in this inventive design.
Overall package for RX-8 is slightly taller and wider than the RX-7 with the wheelbase stretched considerably longer and wheels pushed to corners of the platform for a sporty stance.
With the wheelbase extension there's room enough on the chassis to install a second row of seats in the configuration of a 2+2 GT-style sports coupe.
Only Mazda's designers also added two more doors.
Set behind the front doors, these half-size rear doors are hinged in the back and swing out only after the front doors open to create a broad and pillar-less portal for easy access into the back seats.
The cabin ends up as a functional four-seater with ample room in all positions for full-frame adult riders.
It's also a sculptured work of car art.
Four shapely bolstered buckets fill the cockpit, one in front and back on each side of a floor-mounted console trimmed in aluminum that streaks from the center dash to the back bulkhead.
Seats, doors and the steering wheel show panel inserts in a vivid contrasting color.
And designs in metal etched into console and dash draw and delight the eye with a nuance of geometric shapes organized in the theme of a circle bound within a round-sided triangle, the graphic symbol for this car's unique rotary engine.
For instance, the stubby shifter lever protruding up from the console is surrounded by a metal ring but if you look directly down at the stick you'll see the top knob in metal is triangular in plan and inscribed by a black ring where the six-speed shifting map is displayed.
The instrument panel, set beneath a wavy hood, contains three chrome-ringed binnacles with round electroluminescent analog-style gauges that glow in a vivid display. Foremost gauge at the center is a tachometer with a digital speedometer tucked into the right corner.
Heart of RX-8 is the powerful rotary engine.
Mazda calls it the Renesis, as in rotary engine genesis, or rebirth.
The twin-rotor plant, displacing only 1.3 liters, puts intake and exhaust ports on the side in a new design that differs from every previous rotary engine.
When tied to a six-speed manual gearbox, the rotary hits 238 hp at 8500 rpm and torque of 159 lb-ft at 5500 rpm.
An electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission is also available, but the engine's output dips to 197 hp at 7200 rpm plus 164 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm.
Compact dimensions for the Renesis rotary allow the engine to sit low on the chassis and further toward the rear in a layout described by Mazda as front-midship.
Also, the fuel tank mounts on the front side of the back axle and all cabin seats fit within parameters of the wheelbase and track.
Such arrangements set the center of gravity low on this car with the weight perfectly balanced in 50/50 split between front and rear wheels.
Add rigid structural strength with virtually no body flex plus limber suspension components including a double-wishbone design up front and the result becomes a wily car of uncanny agility to twist and turn and scoot over a course like a sticky-footed gecko.
Steering, with electric power assistance through a rack and pinion system, feels direct and precise with quick feedback to the driver's hands.
Brakes include a disc at every wheel, and computerized connection to an anti-lock brakes system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and dynamic stability control (DSC) to check lateral slippage.
And the car contains a significant load of passive safety systems including dual-stage frontal air bags and side-impact air bags plus curtain-style air bags stretching the length of the cabin in headliners.
We put all mechanical elements of the RX-8 into play during a romp across the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with some of the tightest curves on blacktop -- and the drive becomes about as much fun as you can find on four wheels.
Mazda loads the RX-8 with preferred equipment but clusters optional items in packages.
The Sport Package includes xenon headlights, foglamps and the DSC controller; a Touring Package brings a moonroof and Bose audio system, while the Grand Touring Package adds leather seats and heat elements in front buckets and the pair of exterior mirrors.
price tabs run up from the base of $25,680 with a manual transmission or $26,680 for the automatic.
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| 2004 MAZDA RX8 VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Compact 2+2 sports coupe
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| Model Options: |
Compact 2+2 sports coupe
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| Wheelbase: |
106.4 inches
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| Overall Length: |
174.3 inches
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| Engine Size: |
Renesis 1.3-L two-rotor rotary
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| Transmission: |
MT: Manual/6
AT: Auto/4
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| Drive: |
Rear
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc
ABS/EBD/DSC
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| Airbags: |
2 (front)
2 (side)
4 (side curtain)
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| Gas Mileage: |
MT: 18/25 mpg
AT: 18/24 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
MT: $ 25,680, AT: $ 26,680 |
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