MAZDA RX-8
Free thinking
A car that not only
T
HERE are no pistons
going up and down, just
heralds the return two rotors going around
and around… But it is
of the rotary, but not just the rotary engine that
makes the RX-8 distinctive: such
provides a fresh a dramatically styled four-door
approach to four-seat sportster is going to turn
heads no matter what is under the
sporty motoring bonnet. Even in a motoring world
where so many new vehicles are
for four launched that do not fall into a
fixed category, the Mazda RX-8
is different. Not a conventional
sportscar, not a true coupé, not a
pukka GranTourismo, the RX-8 is
80
also not an old fashioned 2+2 seat-
er. It is a, er, well, “sportscar like no
other” claims Mazda. Whatever,
it is cool enough to be featured in
the latest Britney Spears/Madonna
music video.
Our test car was painted in a
cataract-shattering yellow, which
actually complements the body’s
“athletic tension” (read “left field”)
styling.The car’s configuration is
almost classic sportscar: long
bonnet, stubby tail, front-engined,
rear-wheel drive.The edges of the
bonnet run down into the nose
and under the main air intake –
which is unfortunately masked by
the number plate – and the apron
is sportily styled and includes a
wide splitter. Widely flared sills
link the wheelarches, which are
very pronounced in front with air
vents behind, and the rears are
only slightly less obvious. Bold
and aggressive, certainly, but the
arches actually manage to make
the substantial 18-inch wheels
look a little lost. A slim boot
spoiler, a mock diffuser, and out-
board big-bore exhaust tailpipes
highlight the rear end.
What makes the RX-8 noticea-
CAR January 2004
bly different – in a sportscar sense
– is the shape and size of
the cabin. It is a four-seater with a
gently curving roofline visually
disguised in profile by a C-pillar
that gives the impression of a
sharp cut-off. It is the four doors,
though, that have the most
impact. Mazda calls the layout
Freestyle. Perhaps best described
as 2+2, the fronts are standard
sized, but there are two half-width
CAR January 2004
Curved triangle shape is a rotary symbol, and features in
numerous places on the car, including seat head restraints,
gear knob, and front and rear aprons. Silver ring highlights
appear a lot, too, such as around the triple instrument clus-
ter. No speedo, just a digital readout. Handbrake detracts a
little from an otherwise stylish cabin.
Ride and handling as impressive rear-hinged back doors that open
as its performance to 80 degrees and offer really easy
access to the two individual rear
seats because of the absence of
B-pillars. They can only be released
from the inside when the front doors
are open: there are no exterior han-
dles. The effect resembles a cutaway
show car, but each rear door carries
all the strength of a regular B-pillar,
witness the upper anchorage for the
front seatbelt located in its leading
edge. Side-impact protection is not
compromised and meets all test
standards. There are dual front, side
and curtain airbags.
All aboard, then. From the front
seats, the news is generally good.
The facia manages to be stylish and
functional, with a shiny black inser
in the hangdown section set off by
a circular silver inlay that contains
the audio system’s controls. With
the volume control knob at centre,
it graphically resembles a whirling
propeller. (There are basic satellite
controls on the steering wheel, too.)
Three air-con knobs, the outers with
a silver rim, are easy to fathom, and
offer an auto setting. The silver ring
81
theme continues on air vents, the
gearshift gaiter, and around the trio
of (Alfa-like) hooded instruments,
which incorporate some eerie blue
indirect lighting. The centre main
instrument is the rev counter (read-
ing to 10 000!), flanked on the left
by an oil pressure gauge and digital
odometers, with temperature and
fuel gauges on the right. Something
missing? Yes, there is no speedome-
ter. Instead, you get a digital readout
within the rev counter, which is an
unfortunate gimmick. With a conven-
tional speedo, given familiarity you
can monitor your speed simply

The view through

the windscreen is
interesting
by glancing at the position of the
needle, but with a readout you have
to purposely read it. And with a car
as smooth and quick as this, you can
be in for a bit of a shock…
The view through the windscreen
is interesting: a triangular depression
in the bonnet is clear to see, as well
as the tops of those pronounced
arches. There is not a lot of head-
room, but the driver’s seat can be
electrically adjusted in all directions,
including lumbar support. The front
passenger’s chair has basic, hand-
adjusted movement. Both have heat-
ers. The three-spoke steering wheel
adjusts for rake only, the handbrake
has an unusual pistol grip (that can
dig into your thigh/knee), and the
pedals have drilled aluminium faces.
Although the footwell is large and
contains a left-foot rest, the transmis-
sion tunnel impinges on under-calf
With the engine cover removed,
down below lurks the com-
pact twin-rotor Mazda Rotary
Engine: it sits low and well back
in the bay. Note stiffening brace
across the front suspension tur-
rets.
Right: Intake and exhaust ports
located in the side, rather than
the circumference, of the rotor
housing.

space.
From Wankel to Renesis For passengers consigned to the

D r Felix Wankel’s revolutionary rotary engine first tickled the

motoring world’s imagination when it appeared in the Mazda
Cosmo Sport (pictured below) in 1967, followed a year later by the
rear, comfort depends to a degree
on the size of those ahead (the front
seats have limited travel, though),
even more radical NSU Ro80. Compact, light and powerful, there but kneeroom is reasonable at
were, however, reliability problems with early units being prone worst. Headroom is tight, and the
to rotor tip failure calling for expensive repairs.The engine proved dark
thirsty, too, so when the global fuel crisis occurred in the ’70s, interior, small side window and high-
attraction wavered in what some pundits had been touting as a backed front seats may cause some still complies with the Otto cycle –
serious challenger to the reciprocal internal combustion engine. people to feel a little claustrophobic. ignition, compression, power,
Since then, of all the interested manufacturers, Mazda alone exhaust – of a regular four-stroke
has persevered with the Wankel, developing the “rotor motor”
over three generations of its RX-7 sportscar, which first appeared
At back is as snug internal combustion engine, but
instead of a crankshaft operating
in 1978 and garnered increasing respect as it evolved.The com- as being in front pistons running in cylinders and
pany achieved a groundbreaking win at Le Mans in 1991 with the breathing through valves, a rotary
four-rotor 787B, but then ever-stricter emissions legislation forced At least the side windows can be has a geared eccentric shaft driving
Mazda to reconfigure the concept in order to keep it alive. unlatched for additional ventilation, a triangular rotor with curved sides
The engineers’ efforts were rewarded in 2003 when, in its latest and there’s a (noisy) glass sunroof to turning in an oval-walled chamber.
guise – called Renesis, meaning the “rotary engine’s genesis” let in additional light. The high floor In its latest guise, Mazda’s rotary
– the Mazda Rotary Engine (as console runs the length of the inte- engine, called Renesis, has (amongst
it is now titled) was named rior, so sitting in the back is as snug other improvements) revised porting
International Engine OfTheYear as being in the front. in order to meet global emissions
after receiving 44 votes from a Anyone who has driven a Wankel- standards. Each rotor now has three
panel of 50 motoring journalists engined car will welcome the return intake and two exhaust ports let into
from 22 countries around the of the rotary. Those who have not will the sides of the chamber, rather
world. experience something a bit than one set of ports in the circum-
special. Very simply, the engine ference. Each rotor chamber has a

CAR January 2004 83

 Mazda RX-8 Hyundai BMW 325Ci
Tiburon V6 coupé
price R339 950 R269 995 R320 500
cyl/capac rotary/1 308 V6/2 657 6/2 494
power 170/8 200 130/6 000 141/6 000
torque 211/5 500 250/4 000 245/3 500
power/mass 122 94 95 est
engine revs/km 1 864 1 619 n/a
gears/drive 6/R 6/F 5/R
0-100 km/h 6,97 8,60 8,50 est
max speed 237 217 237 est
fuel index 13,56 11,07 9,2 est
boot capac 232 248-624 296-708
When it comes to four-seater sportscars, there is not a huge choice,
so the RX-8 practically has a market niche to itself. However, the
Hyundai Tiburon is a reasonably sized 2+2, with some Ferrari-like styl-
ing. It is not as quick but has a spirited and torquey V6 that will sat-
isfy many people – and it is R70 000 cheaper… A more conventional
choice would be the BMW coupé, also not as rapid as the Mazda but
much more flexible and possessing one of the world’s great engines.
Moreover, it offers truly practical transport for four.

volume of 654 cm3, so the twin-rotor six-speed transmission helps keep

RX-8 is, strictly speaking, a 1300, but
for classification purposes an equiva-
lency factor of two is applied, making
the Mazda a 2,6 litre.
It is a super-smooth powerplant
that, typical of its type, does not
produce torque in any great measure
– the RX-8 has a relatively puny 211
N.m at a peak of 5 500 r/min. It relies
instead on its rev-happy power band
Two half-width rear-
hinged back doors open
the spin-factor high, but we discov-
ered that the engine’s modest mus-
cle means you can actually potter
in traffic without concern. For brisk
overtaking, you need to stir things up
by downshifting one or two gears,
as the test figures reflect. On the
downside, some members of our
test team remarked that rapid gear-
shifting was hampered by that point-
lessly bulky handbrake lever.
Give it full bore treatment,
though, and the RX-8 becomes
a whizzo Wankel. With the DSC

to 80 degrees switched out, we found that,

to release a healthy 170 kW at a
heady 8 200, which is 1 300 shy of
the limiter. Here it should be pointed
out that the rev counter indicates
crankshaft revolutions, which are
three times greater than rotor speed.
An easy, short throw, close ratio
contrary to the norm (again, this
car challenges convention in a
number of areas) the car sprints bet-
ter with lots of wheelspin at
take-off. A limited-slip diff keeps
things stable, and we managed
the 0-100 km/h dash in a rapid
6,97 seconds, the standing kilometre
in 27,98 seconds at 188,5 km/h,
and felt the soft limiter come in
at 237 km/h in top gear. Although
Mazda has made steady improve-
ments in fuel economy over
the years, the rotary is still a
thirsty motor, as our fuel index of
13,56 litres/100 km testifies.
Hauling this 1 400 kg machine to

Absence of a B-pillar and the rear-

opening doors allow easy access
to the back. Boot has high lip and
narrow opening, and will take only
232 dm3 of luggage. Sunroof lets
in welcome light, but creates wind
noise, even when closed.

CAR January 2004 85

 Mazda RX-8 ����
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS TEST RESULTS
Deserves prize for being unconven- ENGINE: POWER AND TORQUE MAXIMUM SPEED (km/h):
tional Cylinders twin-rotor rotary True speed 237 at 7 362 r/min in top gear
Looks great from some angles... Fuel supply electronic sequential port Speedometer reading 240
180
... a little awkward from others injection (Average of runs both ways on a level road)
POWERTRAIN Bore/stroke n/a 170 Calibration: 60 80 100 120
Sturdy transmission Cubic capacity 1 308 cm3 (equivalency 160
True speed: 58 78 97 117
Amazing engine... formula = 2 616 cm3) Odometer error 2 per cent over
... but torque is weak so it demands Compression ratio 10,0 to 1 150 ACCELERATION (seconds):
revs to perform Valve gear 3 intake/2 exhaust 140 0-60 3,15
COMFORT AND FEATURES side ports per rotor 0-80 4,97
Lots of neat and interesting touches 130
Ignition electronic 0-100 6,97
The "+2" has compromised the cabin, Main bearings n/a 120 0-120 9,63
though Fuel requirement unleaded 1 km sprint 27,98
110
PERFORMANCE AND BRAKING ENGINE OUTPUT: Terminal speed 188,5 km/h
Thrash the revs and it goes very well Max power ISO (kW) 170 100 OVERTAKING ACCELERATION (seconds):
Superb stoppers Power peak (r/min) 8 200 90 360
3rd 4th 5th Top
FUEL ECONOMY Max usable r/min 9 500 40-60 2,98 4,67 5,99 8,18
Rotaries have never been miserly, but Max torque (N.m) 211 80 320 60-80 2,68 4,20 5,25 7,20
the RX-8's figure is reasonable Torque peak (r/min) 5 500 70 280 80-100 2,57 4,11 5,09 6,96
RIDE AND HANDLING TRANSMISSION: 100-120 2,77 4,00 5,20 7,17
Firm and compliant Forward speeds six 60 240 120-140 3,39 4,12 5,38 7,88
Slightly numb steering does not Low gear 3,760 to 1 50 200 FUEL CONSUMPTION (litres/100 km):
detract from generally benign handling 2nd gear 2,269 to 1 *Fuel index 13,56 litres/100 km
40 160
VALUE FOR MONEY 3rd gear 1,645 to 1 7,37 km/litre
A reasonable asking price for a sporty 4th gear 1,187 to 1 30 120 Estimated tank range 450 km
coupé that is a lot different from its 5th gear 1 000 to 1 20 80 (*Calculated overall consumption)
rivals Top gear 0,843 to 1 BRAKING TEST:
Reverse gear 3,564 to 1 10 40 From 100 km/h
Final drive 4,444 to 1 kW N.m Best stop 2,59
Drive wheels rear, with LSD and DSC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Worst stop 3,07
WHEELS AND TYRES: Revs per minute (x 1000) Average of 10 stops 2,78
a standstill is as impressive as its Road wheels 18x8JJ alloy (Measured in seconds with stops from true
Tyre make Bridgestone Poteza RE040 ENGINE SPEED speeds at 30-second intervals on a good
performance. Only one of the test Tyre size 225/45 R18 91W bitumenised surface.)
sequence stops from 100 km/h Tyre pressures (front) 220 kPa GEARED SPEEDS (km/h):

Max torque
240
exceeded three seconds, the all- Tyre pressures (rear) 220-270 kPa Top Low gear 59* 69
BRAKES: 220 2nd gear 98* 114
ventilated disc brakes proving to be Front 323 mm ventilated disc 200 3rd gear 135* 157
exceptionally powerful, even by ABS Rear 302 mm ventilated disc
180
5th 4th gear 187* 217
Hydraulics ABS, with EBD 5th gear 223* 258
(with EBD) standards. STEERING: Top gear 264* 306
160 4th
Ride and handling are reassuring, Type rack and pinion, speed sensing (Calculated at engine power peak* – 8 200
140
too. The RX-8’s all independent sus- electric power assistance r/min and at max. usable r/min – 9 500 r/min.)
Lock to lock 3,0 turns 120 INTERIOR NOISE LEVELS (db, A-weighted):
pension smoothes out most irregu- Turning circle 10,6 metres 3rd Mech Road
100
larities with firm damping, and SUSPENSION Idling 42 –
Front double wishbones, coil springs, 80 2nd 60 64 –
while the electrically assisted power anti-roll bar 80 67 75
60
steering is light and a tad short on Rear multi-link, coil springs, 100 69 78
1st
Max power

40
feedback, it is sharp and accurate anti-roll bar 120 72 80
CAPACITIES: 20 PERFORMANCE FACTORS:
and you can feel the onset of very Seating 4 Power/mass net (W/kg) 122
km/h
gentle understeer at the limit. The Fuel tank 61 litres Frontal area (m2) 2,37
Boot space 232 dm3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
km/h per 1 000 r/min (top) 32,19
225/45 tyres provide abundant grip, WARRANTY AND SERVICE INTERVALS:
Revs per minute (x 1000)
Mass as tested (kg) 1 398
but do generate some roar. It is all 3 years/100 000 km ACCELERATION (Calculated on “mass as tested”, gross frontal
very safe and predictable, and the 5 years/100 000 km maintenance plan area, gearing and ISO power output)
24/7 roadside assistance TEST CONDITIONS:
stability control system has sensible Service every 10 000 km
180
Altitude at sea level
4th
leeway before kicking in to tame the TEST CAR FROM: 160 Weather partly cloudy, mild
Mazda Southern Africa Fuel used 95 octane unleaded
over-enthusiastic. 140
Test car’s odometer 5 220
120
3rd

Test Summary 100

Zoom with a rotary vroom – the 80 2nd

RX-8 is aimed at Wankel engine 60

enthusiasts and that limits its appeal. 40
1st
Neverthless, the more you live with 20
it, the more you get to appreciate it. km/h
Dramatic – perhaps slightly wacky 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Seconds
– looks, a smooth, slick and unusual
powertrain, and reasonable space
for four (but not with too much
baggage), this Mazda represents
some refreshing free thinking.
1 340 mm

At R339 950, it is not outrageously

priced, either.
(As we went to press, the RX-8
was named Japan’s “Fun Car Of
TheYear”.) ● front 1 500 mm Ground clearance 140 mm
rear 1 505 mm 2 700 mm

1 770 mm 4 430 mm

86 CAR January 2004