2007 Mazda RX-8 Review

Specifications

I love V8s. I love their power and their big torque, I love the way they seem to lift and twist the front end of a car when you rev them at a standstill, but above all, I love the endless variety of noises that so many different V8s make. This summer has been particularly kind to us at our Midwest offices as we have seen some awe-inspiring V8s pass through our ‘garage.’ From the Sierra Denali’s truckish rumble to the Volvo S80’s surprisingly assertive growl, from Dodge’s loud and proud Hemi in R/T and SRT8 trim to Audi’s silky 4.2L V8 making appearances in the A6, S4, RS4 and even a brief sojourn with that engine positioned a little behind and above my right shoulder in the R8, and from the Cayenne’s authoritarian gurgle to the purr and whine of the supercharger forcing air into the Jaguar XKR’s pistons and the exhaust coughing up furballs, I can never get enough V8 in my life. The sounds, the power, the beautiful rumble, the weight … Wait a minute, the weight is the one thing we don’t like about V8s.

As much as I love a full-bore V8, there is one other engine configuration that gets equal love, or perhaps a little more since it is so rare. There are so many V8s to choose from, but only one rotary. This space-saving oddity is actually one of the smallest displacement engines on the market, and definitely the one with the fewest cylinders: none at all. The other 8 in my life is the RX-8, whose Renesis rotary engine has, instead of cylinders, a kinda’ kidney-shaped (epitrochoid, anyone?) combustion chamber with a bulgy triangle incorporating scooped out sides going through the cycle of injection-compression-combustion-exhaust by spinning madly like a possessed geometric solid set loose in a demonic gerbil-wheel.

The Renesis rotary engine somehow makes 232 hp from a meager 1.3L of displacement, furiously revolving on its irregular path and allowed, by the grace of Mazda’s engineers to spin up to 9,000 revolutions per minute. It is like ecstasy hearing that engine work its cyclonic magic, a turbine rush that no inline-six whir or turbo hiss will match; not that I have anything against those types of engines, but the sheer raciness cannot be matched by anything short of the S2000 on the far side of its VTEC cams. It’s an engine configuration that sees service in the Star Mazda Series, and it epitomizes racing philosophy – speed through less weight. Open up the hood of the RX-8 and compare it to the engine compartment of any V8 or turbocharged four or boxer six, and you’ll see a spacious engine bay, just one little motor back near the firewall and a bunch of air.

One of the byproducts of such a light and compact engine is that Mazda was able to place it pretty much wherever they wanted to in order to achieve an ideal weight distribution, opting for a 48/52 front/rear bias for their notion of ideal balance. Torque isn’t overpowering, reaching 159 at 5,500 rpm, but the car’s relatively light overall weight of 3,045 pounds (with the manual transmission) means it’s almost child’s play to control it using weight transfer and keeping the revs high and peak power (which comes on at 8,500 rpm) on hand for tail-happy antics. The pristine balance, low center of gravity and solid chassis work, together with the direct and nicely weighted steering lend confidence to any maneuver at any speed. It is uncanny how comfortable I felt bringing the back end out just a bit and tucking it back in without any nerves or breath-stopping moments.


Considering the RX-8 is already an immaculately balanced and beautifully sculpted machine with an engine that is a masterpiece of modern engineering, it’s hard to imagine it getting any better, but somehow Mazdaspeed managed it. The heart and soul of the RX-8 is its aforementioned Renesis rotary engine, which we’ve established as crazy beautiful, working brilliantly (although thirstily) while being incredibly lightweight and revving like no other mill on the market – how does that 9,000 rpm red line sound to you? How could it possibly get any better? Aside from turbocharging it for ludicrous power, of course …

We already thought it sounded fantastic, but lo and behold, Mazdaspeed managed to give it a vicious rasping gurgle that’s not unlike a mini-Uzi rattling off rounds in an echo chamber (or as Justin described it, like a swarm of bees bottled up in a stainless steel drum) by installing a sport exhaust that reduces back pressure, increases flow and makes that freaky sound. We loved it. It easily climbed onto my favorites chart along with all those bone-crushing V8s.

The intake, meanwhile, seemed to take up nearly as much space in the engine bay as the engine itself, but it was also a sight more attractive to look at, with its polished aluminum tubing feeding extra air to the genius powerplant. It’s been a while since we drove the stock RX-8 (last year), so we can’t say whether the power gains were very dramatic (cold air intake should also help the engine breathe), but as usual, the chassis handled the power beautifully, and seemed ready for more. However, I wouldn’t want to argue the point with Mazda engineers, since I have infinite respect for curbing the MX-5’s power at a point that seems wonderfully suited to its ability and furthermore reining in the Mazdaspeed3 just enough in first and second gears so that there isn’t any excessive drama getting away from a dead stop or spinning the wheels through corners, with all that understeer going on. The RX-8 is so well matched to its power that 30 extra horses might just upset the rotary-cart. Still, I can’t help but wonder …

Anyhow, even without lowering springs, the RX-8 takes corners with no more than a whisper of body roll, and it’s also a reasonably comfortable ride, even on rough roads. It still shocks us that Mazda can create such an accommodating ride on a vehicle that corners so flat. We just don’t get it. We also don’t get how the brakes can be so awesome and even after pounding them with repeated hard braking tests, they still clamped down authoritatively and without fading into the evening.

What we do get is how cool the interior is, with its small rear suicide doors making access to the back seats pleasingly un-coupe-like. Those seats in the back are another pleasing surprise – roomy enough for an adult, they are comfortable deep buckets that also hold you in place if the driver finds a curve that he (or she) just can’t pass up. Driving around town, the sunroof opens for extra air, but when we conducted our handling tests, we found that the sunroof took up vital headroom and forced us to lean the chair back far more than is comfortable because the seats will not go low enough. Now I’m 5′10” with heels on, and I spoke with a six-foot RX-8 owner whose car does not have a sunroof and he also admitted to that being its biggest and pretty much only flaw for track days when a helmet is required. In my case, I was forced into an uncomfortable position with my helmet on, a seemingly small thing, but it prevented me from being in an ideal seating position, which is one of the first lessons in car control from any driving school. If you plan to track your RX-8, bring your helmet along and check it out, otherwise you’re looking at a racing seat swap right out of the gate – I didn’t inquire if Mazdaspeed Performance Accessories installs those as well … hmmm …

The finishing touches on the RX-8 we drove were a modest rear spoiler ($360), polished aluminum rotary crests ($159) and Mazdaspeed center caps ($30 each) on the trick Mazdaspeed wheels. The wheel design is a piece of work in itself, 18×7.5” seven-spoke, two-piece bolted aluminum alloys, which looked very aftermarket and perfectly suited the Galaxy Gray Mica exterior paint. Actually, we’ve been told that they’re not available in our market. What is available (and I do prefer these over the ones you see here) are forged one-piece aluminum five-spokes wrapped with 225/45R18 rubber. You have the choice of gold or gun metallic finish, and can be had for $610 a piece. The Mazdaspeed Sport Exhaust is well worth the money ($675), especially considering you can work all of the above into your monthly payments and it all gets covered by the original manufacturer’s warranty, which in Mazda’s case covers you for 3 years or 36,000 miles.

However, the Mazda RX-8 isn’t a car you buy because of a
warranty, or even financing options, though if you ask me, it’s a downright bargain as equipped at $35K. Despite its meager displacement, it goes through an unnatural amount of gasoline and oil because of its high revs and the imperfect seal around the combustion chamber. It’s clearly not the most practical car on the market, but with a serviceable little trunk (actually it’s not so little, it’s quite roomy) and four comfortable seats, it is one of the most practical sports cars on the market.

It is, above all, a legitimate sports car, so don’t hold anything against it just because it seats four adults comfortably. But even if it had only one seat and no windshield, I would still love it for its unparalleled engine, distinctive performance and unshakable balance. With just a couple Mazdaspeed upgrades, it also sounds as sweet as some of my favorite V8s and gains some street-thug attitude. It might not be entirely hard-core like a Lotus or an S2000, but it is smart to its core, a slightly crazed idea that comes together as a genius of a car.