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2008 Mazda RX-8 40th Anniversary Edition Road Test

The only thing that frustrates me (and most other drivers, I'm sure) more on

The RX-8 is a special car, not just because it's a true four-door coupe, but because the rotary engine has just turned 40. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

the road than rubbernecking, changing lanes every minute and traffic congestion seemingly for the sake of traffic congestion is going through it all at the helm of a truly great car. The Mazda RX-8 is one of those truly great cars (and not only because my car happened to have a custom “GR8 RX8” number plate, I swear), and last Monday was one of those truly frustrating days. All I wanted to do was get to my favorite driving roads, but unfortunately that meant spending some time on a major route heading out of the city.

So there I was, sitting in the low-slung, hip-hugging, copper-colored seat of the 40th Anniversary edition (only 1000 are destined for sale in the US) of this fantastic car, silky-smooth twin-rotor Wankel engine humming not two feet from the firewall I was angrily pushing my feet against. But, like the color of my car there was a silver lining, as I was given the chance to think back on the Mazda Cosmos/RX series of cars.

The plaques proudly emblazoned on the fenders of my test car signify the 40th year that the Wankel/Renesis motor has been used in a production automobile, debuting on the 1968 Cosmos roadster. Since then it has appeared in numerous Mazda engine bays, the most successful of which

Race proven engine is smooth, powerful and very unique. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

(and the spiritual predecessor to my test car) being the RX-7 that first appeared on our shores in 1978. Since that time the motor has been seen bolted onto the chassis of four generations of the RX-7, nestled aft of the driver in the overall winner of the 1991 Le Mans 24 hours (that car was the 787B, and it gives Mazda the distinction of being the only Japanese manufacturer ever to have won that prestigious event outright), and most recently we have seen a massaged version of the same motor found in my test car, the 13B-MSP Renesis, under the hood of the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona GT-class winning Mazda RX-8. That car was up against the perennial leaders of the GT racing scene such as the Porsche GT3 Cup, and... wait! Traffic is thinning. History lesson over. Time to go.

Because of its compact size, the twin-rotor is moved back far enough in the chassis, which makes for a superb front/rear weight balance of 50/50 — the true essence of a front mid-engine machine; Audi, the brand most often associated with front mid-engine magnificence has nothing on the RX-8. As you can see, Mazda, like so many other manufacturers today,

The badge says it all. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

covers the engine almost entirely; don't fret, as the motor is so compact, and sits so low and so far back that there really isn't much to see anyway. Still, the engine cover is easily removed if you do want to find a way to better appreciate the inner-workings of such a unique powerplant. The engine plays a big part in helping the car hover around the 3,000 pound mark, which is pretty incredible considering the car's four doors, 7.6 cubic foot trunk and 106.4-inch wheelbase, which allows my 6'3” frame room to stretch out fairly comfortably, thank you very much. Headroom is a different story, one that's not helped by the fact that my car had the standard moonroof, the bane of many a tall driver. Really, though, when I'm hunkered down, hands wrapped firmly around the hand-stitched leather steering wheel, headroom is not really at the forefront of my thoughts.

Under my right foot was 232 horsepower and 159 lb-ft of torque (I had the 6-speed manual transmission at my disposal—cars equipped with the Sport Mode auto as a $700 option take a 20 horsepower hit), just begging to

Cabin has plenty of room inside, even for taller folks. Copper colored leather inserts are a bright contrast to the rest of the interior. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

be unleashed on the road ahead. When you do put the pedal down, you're rewarded with one of the most intoxicating sounds found in the automotive market today. In the past, there have been complaints about the muted tone of the various Wankel motors, especially that of the turbocharged RX-7, and it appears Mazda's engineers took the criticism to heart and improved things, to the point where the exhaust note is something resembling that found on the Nissan 350Z and its Infiniti G37 coupe derivative, only somehow more high-pitched and manic. If you're willing to send the tach needle sweeping past the indicated 8,500 rpm redline you will be so aurally rewarded that you'll wish the tone could just keep rising and rising, like the fan-o-meter at your favorite stadium. Actually, the nature of the rotary engine requires that it be revved as close to maximum rpm as possible, as this is how the twin-rotors generate power. I have to say, this may be the one knock against the engine, as before the 8,500 mark, throttle response, while smooth, seems only slightly faster than ordinary, and those high revs don't do any favors for the car's fuel economy ratings either, side-port exhaust or no. But then again, who refrains from buying a sports car because it uses more fuel than the average daily driver? Plus, when the engine does get on boil, the thrust is nothing short of

And, you'll find more room back here than in most coupes. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

exhilarating and oh-so-smooth. Power delivery is linear, the throttle sensitive to even the slightest amount of pressure, allowing drivers to get just the right amount of throttle steer to aid the already weighty steering controls. Actually, “sensitive” and “precise” are words used to describe many of the RX-8's controls, from the radio tuner knob right down to the clutch pedal and shifter, which has to be one of the slickest six-speed gear levers I have ever had the pleasure of slotting. The throws are short, requiring little more than a flick of the wrist to perform, and I didn't miss a shift in the tight gate once. Equally rewarding is the perfectly weighted dry-plate clutch, allowing for shifts quick enough to arouse the race driver in all of us, an illusion helped by the chrome pedals (six-speed manual models only), ideally placed for rev-matching heel-toe downshifts when needed.

Chances are you'll be making a lot of use of the pedals, as this is one of those cars that makes you want to jump in and drive like the manufacturer intended it to be driven. The sharp front fenders, aggressively-sloped roofline and 18-inch Y-spoke rims that look like they came from an

These wheels are unique to the 40th Anniversary Edition. They're a twist on the usual five-spoke alloys found on most RX-8s. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

aftermarket wheel and tire specialist (another detail reserved for the 40th anniversary edition), all do their part to ensure the original RX-8 won't be forgotten when a re-styled car is released as a 2009 model. I swear, I can't remember a time when I left the car without looking over my shoulder—sometimes for such long periods of time that I'd forgotten what I was supposed to be doing...

And it's practical. Before my test week, I never really believed that this car was really intended to seat four. I always assumed it to be a typical 2+2, just with the added benefits of the rear suicide doors so passengers don't have to clamber over a folded front seat. I have since changed my views—there really are four seats in this thing, and they really are meant to be used! In addition to being necessary to stiffen the car, thanks to the lack of true B-pillars, the center shaft (the defining feature of the “Power Plant Frame” or “PPF” in Mazda-speak) provides back seat occupants with the necessary platform for cupholders and even a storage bin. During my time with the car, passengers said that they felt no more cramped in the back seats of the RX-8 than they did in any of the compact four-door sedans they had always been ferried around in, with the exception

Trunk's not bad either - the space can be extended by folding open a ski pass-thru. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

of a lack of headroom. Still, that this is, in fact, a sports car that can actually haul four passengers in relative comfort is of massive value.

That passenger comfort, however, is hard to maintain when the car is pushed to its limits. No matter how deeply passengers are sitting in the torso-hugging back seats (the PPF giving them the appearance of being individual buckets), when the stiff chassis setup goes to work, their bones are bound to shake. It's clear to me that Mazda thought of the car from the middle out, knowing that they would have to somehow make up for the stiffness sacrificed by removing the B-pillars, and they did so by masterfully incorporating the full-length center beam just above the driveshaft . The front suspension features upper and lower A-arms, while the rear is a multilink setup. Both ends are harnessed by sway bars, and the strut tower bar bracing the engine bay cannot be missed due to its thickness. My particular car featured urethane-filled cross members and Bilstein dampers, further giving the impression that this car is not one to be messed with in the handling department. Surprisingly, the whole setup seems almost overly stiff at some points, as I felt some fairly significant tram lining on

Looks sharp in its unique Metropolitan Gray paint. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

grooved roads, the wheel almost twisting itself from my hands on certain occasions.

That stiffness, however, is nothing short of confidence-inspiring when the car is allowed to stretch its legs, so I can forgive the occasional forced-ride in bus ruts. And the steering. Oh, the steering. Even on the straightest of roads I repeatedly felt the urge to weave back and forth, just to further communicate my feelings to the car and have it communicate back. When I think back, the first thing that comes to mind is the feel of that leather-wrapped wheel, arcing back and forth as I took the RX-8 from apex to apex, sitting low, the road zipping by inches below me, the raised front fenders aimed directly at the invisible line pulling me along. I don't know if there is such a thing as “total automotive bliss”, but I have to think that what I felt behind the wheel of the scythe-like RX-8 is pretty darn close. When it comes time to halt the proceedings, the four-wheel vented discs at each corner and Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires connecting chassis to asphalt do a magnificent job. Grip is substantial, aided by an effective traction control and stability control system,

A truly great sports car. (Photo: Dan Heyman, American Auto Press)

the latter providing a comfortable safety net on greasy roads or during “enthusiastic” rides, without being overly intrusive. If such driving aids bother you and you'd rather get the rears spinning, the DSC can be disengaged with a prod of a button mounted just left of the wheel.

Of course, there are a few details that could use some ironing out, such as the lack of an auxiliary input for the premium Bose 9-speaker audio system (the 2008.5 Mazda3 i Sport 4-Door I recently tested had one so I kind of expected it in the RX-8, despite it nearing the end of its life cycle), a wheel that tilts but doesn't telescope (again, look to the base Mazda3 for this), a trunk-release button that I still couldn't easily find after a week of trying (it's just below the left knee, unlit and nestled in behind the fuse box), and I just wish they could have made the door close with a little more solidity. As it stands right now, I sometimes had trouble determining whether or not I had in fact closed the door all the way, the dull “thunk” sound often giving the impression that the seatbelt was caught in the door jam. But these are small details that in no way detract from the thrill of driving a car whose versatile mix of practicality and performance is intoxicating, and, next to the uber-popular Mazda3 and CX-7 and –9 crossovers, serves as further proof of a company on the rise. Now, if only they could find a way to eliminate traffic congestion...

Specification (RX8):

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