2005 Mazda RX-8 “Shinka” Special Edition Road Test

This Romance is Much More than just a Make-Out

I love it when people start talking to me about cars. In the natural evolution of the conversation, somehow the question that always pops up is, “What do you think of this car?” which just so happens to be the car that the person drives. I bring up this example because I recently had one of those conversations with someone who asked me about the Mazda RX-8. When I answered his question, I had nothing but praise for the RX-8 because I am a fan of its athletic performance and eye-catching curves and evolutionary rotary engine.

The RX-8 got that much better last year with the addition of the “Shinka” Special Edition. Being that I only had the chance to drive it recently, Ill break the cardinal rule in our office and report on a 2005 model when all the 2006s are already showing up in dealerships, mostly because its just such a good car I feel compelled to tell you.

First, the name “Shinka” comes from Japanese meaning “evolution” or “transformation.” It is immediately recognizable with its black cherry exterior paint finish. Some of my male friends werent too crazy about “that purple color,” but I just love the way the light catches it. From a distance it looks black, but up close, it has a burgundy undertone that makes it look very sophisticated. The exterior is further complemented by headlamps and rear combination lamps which include semi-gloss bezels, and 18″ dark silver-glossed wheels around the P225/45R18 performance radial tires. Very stylish.

But the rotary engine-powered sports car not only transforms on the outside, but also on the inside. Parchment tan leather coats the door trim and seats, yet its not only pleasing to the eyes but also pleasing to the bum and backside; I just melted into the seats. And yes, the seat warmers were frequently on. Furthermore, the seats are also firm and supportive enough to make long drives comfortable, plus they held me in tightly, not allowing for much side-to-side movement while taking tight turns or changing lanes in traffic, but did however, offer enough freedom that I didnt feel stuck or had to wiggle my way out of the car.

This brings me to talk about the 4-door coupe configuration, which I think is genius. The extra half doors, so to speak, make it so adult passengers dont have to wiggle their way through the seatbelt jungle to sit down in the rear. How many times have you got caught on a seatbelt trying to get to the back seating area of a coupe because a friend called shotgun before you? It has happened to me all too many times. And how many times have you hit your head on your way in, or gotten stuck trying to squeeze into the back? Again, too many times for me. But the RX-8 makes living easy by having the semi-doors for easy access and less head-banging angst!

Life was also made easier thanks to a center console with a sliding cover that fit almost all of the essential junk that I lug around with me: cell phone, day planner, wallet, steamed milk (in the cupholder of course), energy bar and so on. And thats in addition to my purse that sat on the seat beside me. Whats more, when I dont have all that stuff with me, which is a very rare occasion, the sliding cover makes for a comfortable armrest.

Not immediately recognizable to the naked eye, the Shinkas specially tuned suspension features a foam urethane filled front cross member and specially tuned dampers to improve rigidity, and therefore stability and handling. The stiffer body allowed me to take those tight turns a wee bit faster than I would have regularly able too in a less rigid car, remaining stable throughout. Still, while the suspension is quite stiff compared to more comfort-oriented cars, I didnt feel all the imperfections on the roads.

And as I was taking those turns a wee bit faster, the standard 6-speed manual gearbox, with its tight gear ratio made for excellent shifting whether I was gearing down before the turn or stretching its legs on the straight.

The Shinkas engine carries forward from the stock RX-8, which is hardly a bad thing. The 1.3-liter, twin-rotor engine puts out 238-horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 159 lb-ft of torque at 5,500 rpm. I should also mention that a 4-speed automatic transmission is also available, complete with paddle shifters on the steering column; however, 40 horses are sacrificed along the way, dumbing the car down to a total of 198 horsepower.

Whether auto or manual shift, the RX-8 inherits the same ABS and EBD enhanced 4-wheel disc braking system as implemented on the popular Mazda6 sedan, which enabled me to slow down quickly before taking tricky turns. Furthermore, dynamic stability control (DSC) is a standard just incase I were to mess up an apex or lose traction on slippery surfaces. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

That would be a good time to get my mind off of what would have otherwise been a potential accident, and lose myself in a good tune. For such therapy the 9-speaker, 300-watt, AM/FM stereo with a 6-disc in-dash CD changer, stock with the Shinka package, was ideal. The surround sound effect is mighty impressive too. Too bad it doesnt come with a DVD player mounted in that oh-so-useful center console, to have an even more evolutionary experience. Sometimes, when so equipped, I like to park my test car in a park or even in my carport, throw in a movie and watch it.

Mind you, even if there was a DVD system in the back, it would not be the best car to chill in, because if I wanted to drape my legs over the rear seats it would be pretty uncomfortable due to that oh-so-useful console which extends right into the rear seating area. On the off chance that the RX-8 had a DVD player, and I had a date, this car would rank low on the backseat make-out-ability scale due to the barrier it creates between the two parties. On a scale of 1 to 10, it gets a 2.5 (3.5 if there a DVD player were included). It had to be said. On the positive, if youre just riding along as a passenger theres a heck of a lot of room back there - six-foot plus guys have no problem getting comfortable.

On that note there arent many things that I dont like about the RX-8. Visibility is pretty good, but since the rear window is not very deep and the rear seats are tall it made parallel parking and reversing into stalls a bit of a challenge. Furthermore, I cant say that the RX-8 is particularly fuel efficient, with managing only 18 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. Indeed the rotary engine needs just that more juice running through its fuel injectors, but at only 1.3 liters I never would have thought that it could be that bad. I suppose people dont buy this sports coupe for its fuel efficiency.

In total, only 2,150 units of the Shinka will be sold - some may still be left. The RX-8, however, is here to stay, but unfortunately not necessarily with that gorgeous “purple” hue. No matter the color, Mazdas practical sports car offers that little extra something that even makes driving to work eventful, and that, to me, is critical for transforming a short-term love affair into a long-term romance - back seat make-out-ability notwithstanding.

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