Mazda RX-8

Mazda RX-8 Mazda RX-8
First Drive Review

There's a fairly long straightaway on the handling course at Mazda's Miyoshi proving ground that encourages a bit of leg stretching, but the sweeping left-hander that leads to it is blind because of hedges that surround much of the track.

Luckily, the corner has broad paved shoulders so we could take a long, wide line, letting the new RX-8 drift comfortably across the track as it barreled onto the straight. Then it was just a matter of burying the throttle and watching the digital speedometer wink upward through the numbers, reaching 190 kilometers per hour (about 119 mph) before running out of racetrack.

As the speed creeps up, so does the intensity of the sound, changing from a flat ripping note to an angry drone as it reaches for its 8500-rpm power peak. An almost indiscernible vibration at the controls grows to a subtle trembling, as if the car were firing an ultra-light-recoil machine gun. The experience is unlike anything else.

This, then, is the return of the rotary. For a while there we thought green zealotry had killed off the only viable gas-burning alternative to the ubiquitous reciprocating engine. But a brilliantly straightforward modification to the rotary engine's design has improved fuel economy by 20 percent, according to Seiji Tashima, the engineer in charge of the so-called Renesis engine project, and cleaned up emissions so they meet LEV II and Euro 4 standards.

Mazda engineers simply moved the exhaust ports (there are no valves in a rotary engine) from where they had been on the peripheral face of the rotor housing and placed them on the side plates. At a stroke, that reduced the overlap between inlet and exhaust ports, minimizing the amount of air-fuel mixture lost directly out of the exhaust port.

In turn, this modification yielded lower fuel consumption and produced cleaner exhaust emissions. In the process Mazda made the naturally aspirated 13B twin-rotor Renesis engine about as powerful (at a provisional 247 horsepower) as the previous-generation turbo motor. One of the tweaks is a 30-percent increase in port size. Other additions are a variable-volume intake system and an electronic throttle. The rest is Mazda magic.

But before you start mentally calculating how much more power a turbo version of the Renesis engine will punch out, we have to tell you that relatively cool exhaust gas from turbocharged rotary motors prevents efficient catalytic conversion, making it unlikely we'll see one soon, if ever.

But never say never. Hey, they brought back the rotary, didn't they? And in this new RX-8, it embodies an unusual concept: the four-seat sports car. Yeah, we know that Nissan once called the Maxima a four-door sports car, but let's get real here. This RX-8 actually runs and steers and feels like a convincing spiritual successor to the quick-witted but slow-selling RX-7.

It's easy to say four-seat sports car, but what does it mean? In this case, it means feeling light and nimble, turning in like a race car, and resisting roll in corners. It means splitting its mass 50/50 over the front and rear axles and crouching on an independent suspension all around, with rear toe-control links to keep the tail from wagging the dog. (A stability-control function is now included for the faint of heart.) It means rear-wheel drive, a slick six-speed shifter, and a warning buzz when the roaring rotary hits nine grand.

But this time you can take three passengers along for the ride, thanks to a pair of rearward opening "freestyle doors" that allow access to a surprisingly spacious rear compartment. Because the front and rear doors marry without a center pillar, the two rear seats can be reached fairly easily through the large apertures. And since there are no external handles on the rear doors, the sports-car image isn't compromised by four protrusions. A system of interlocking lateral and vertical beams forms a tough skeleton inside the door skins to provide decent side-impact protection. In the process, they also lend the interlaced doors a great deal of rigidity.