Facelifted Mazda RX-8

[B]Design - Enhanced Quality and Sports Car Appeal[/B]

THe Mazda RX-8 has always had the appearance of a classic sports car with a powerful-looking and dynamic exterior design that makes it seem to move even when parked. The new version enhances this with a new front bumper design that has a larger five-point grille and oil cooling openings (below the front fog lights), that are nearly twice as large as on the original model for an even stronger look and improved oil cooling.

Added to this are new front headlamps, new front fender designs, new LED rear lamps and a redesigned rear bumper with larger exhaust pipes (now 90 mm in diameter) all carried out with a further improvement in build quality. For even more sporty appeal, new designs for the car's 19-inch wheels are introduced with distinctive spokes that resemble the engine's rotor.

[B]Powertrain - Enhanced Sports Car Performance[/B]

The twin-rotor RENESIS rotary engine of the original Mazda RX-8 won eight awards globally after it was introduced in 2003, including four International ‘Engine of the Year' awards in 2003 and 2004.

And there were good reasons for this high recognition: the RENESIS rotary engine delivered major improvements in emissions and fuel efficiency while retaining the rotary engine's unique smooth, high-rev nature to deliver true sports car performance without the use of a turbo-charger, which had been a feature of Mazda's rotary engine from 1983 until 2002 on the RX-7.

This award-winning rotary engine delivers 231 bhp at 8,200 rpm and 211 Nm of torque at 5,500 rpm. It accelerates the facelifted RX-8 from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds and allows a top speed of 234 km/h.

The RENESIS engine of the RX-8 facelift is evolved to deliver even more sports car performance and driving fun - an attribute that Mazda's sports icon has always possessed. Drive shaft torsional rigidity of the RX-8 facelift is improved by approximately 30 percent.

[B]Body and Chassis - Enhanced Body Rigidity, Steering Feel and Driving Stability[/B]

The RX-8 facelift continues to feature the front-midship engine, rear-wheel drive configuration of the original, delivering an ideal 50/50 weight distribution between the front and rear axles for fantastic handling characteristics. This acclaimed attribute is taken to a new level with improved overall body shell rigidity, steering feel and handling stability.

Body shell rigidity was further improved with a trapezoidal strut tower bar added at the front to enhance local rigidity of the front suspension tower areas. Together with other local rigidity enhancements, torsional rigidity was improved by 5.4 percent and flexural rigidity by 8.7 percent.

Steering feel is further improved and more linear as well, with an enhancement of the main bar joint of the instrument panel for more rigidity of the steering mount area, and the addition of a new front suspension cross member filled with urethane foam for optimal ride comfort.

[B]Safety[/B]

Active and passive safety always has top priority at Mazda and the RX-8 facelift is no exception. It comes with 323 mm ventilated front discs and 302 mm ventilated rear discs. ABS, traction control and DSC systems (disconnectable) are standard equipment. Still onboard is the limited slip differential, which automatically distributes the power between the rear wheels and ensures best possible acceleration and traction.

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Credits: JRC