The novelty wasn't just the driving and what was underneath the bonnet upfront, it was in the back seat too. We were both back and front last week in Mazda's latest, the RX-8 sports car with its own very special rotary engine trademark. First though, a little bit of history. The rotary engine, sometimes called the Wankel after its inventor, Dr Felix Wankel, has been around for a long time. Mazda first got involved with it back in 1967: the car was the Cosmo Sport. Around the same period in Ireland there
But Mazda kept faith with it and today it sees RX-8 as a bright and beautiful manifestation of its dedication. Previous rotary-engined Mazdas have come and gone, the penultimate one being the RX-7, launched in 1995. RX-8 is different, very different. "Maybe we don't have any competitors because of these doors," remarks Ikvo Maeda somewhat gleefully at the international launch. He is the car's chief designer and those rear doors are a major talking point.
The RX-8, with its four doors and full-sized rear seats, is unique among its sports car ilk. Furthermore, there's no B pillar. Mr Maeda tells us that with a conventional B pillar, the wheelbase would have to be six inches longer for rear passengers to get in and out.
The back seat is strictly for two, andeasily accessed via the large door opening. The smaller rear doors don't have external handles, thus maintaining the overall sporty look. Once inside passengers can tuck their feet under the front seats and enjoy reasonable head and knee room. The boot, too, is bigger than in most sports cars and was designed around carrying two golf bags.
With no B pillar, isn't the RX-8 dangerous in a crash situation? Not so, say Mazda engineers and use cutaway models to show additional stiffening in the floor and roof areas which the B pillar would have otherwise connected.
The emphasis on safety carries through into the cabin. The driver's airbag measures and controls impact if it is activated. Curtain and side airbags are also provided and there's a whiplash restraining mechanism to minimise the risk of injury in a rear-end collision.
At the heart of this machine is Renesis, which the Japanese have adopted from the Biblical Book of Genesis. Not everybody may get it, but Renesis is meant to convey the message of "rotary engine and new beginning".There are two power levels available, 192 and 240 bhp, the latter with a six-speed gearbox.
The 240 bhp RX-8 can pack a mighty punch with a 150 mph top speed and a 0 to 62 mph time of 6.2 seconds. Fuel consumption is worth watching and Mazda claims RX-8 will give around 25 mpg in the combined driving mode. It has gained weight over its predessor but only 165 pounds, and it's still 300 pounds less than similarly-sized BMW 3-series coupés. The weight distribution is dead on 50/50 front to rear and everything imaginable has been done to pull mass into the centre of the car's footprint, including the very compact engine that drives the rear wheels. There's also a new suspension arrangement. In the 240 bhp version it was in sporty mode which firmed everything up and made small ruts seem like potholes.
RX-8 made its world debut last week at the Detroit auto show where American pricing was announced. The base or entry-level version starts at $25,180 and goes on sale in June. A fully loaded RX-8 with every option including leather seats and a specially developed Bose audio system will be $30,000. With the American dollar approximating to the euro, it looks real value-for-money motoring.
The car is expected to make its Irish debut in July, around the same time as it arrives in Britain. British prices were announced last week. The 192 bhp model will be £19,995 and the 240 bhp has a £21,995 tag. We can only imagine that in Irish pricing, the figures will look more awesome.
British would-be buyers are being encouraged to get in line, and Mazda has established an on-line pre-ordering facility to get to the front of the queue. It means placing a deposit of £1,000 via a credit card. Around 2,500 cars have been allocated to the British market, which suggests that Irish sales of 100-plus figure.