2008 Mazda RX-8 – Mazda’s Last RX Sports Car

I’ve covered several supercars from my 2013 top trumps supercar set on the blog so far such as the underrated and unique Lexus LFA that has an insane V10 engine, the crazy Jaguar XJ220 that was one of the fastest supercars in the 1990s and Ford’s 2005 GT which was made as a tribute to the iconic GT40.

Now the car I will be featuring isn’t as crazy or fast as the previous supercars mentioned, but it’s a car that especially if you are into the Japanese car scene you will enjoy reading about. I’m talking about the Mazda RX-8, more specifically the facelifted version of the RX-8 that was introduced in 2008 since that is the car that is displayed on my card.

Mazda have made several sports cars with the RX-8 being the successor of the iconic RX-7. The late 2000’s were an interesting time for Japanese supercars as the iconic cars like the Supra, Skyline GTR and NSX weren’t really around anymore, so the RX-8 was a nice sports car option for the Japanese market at the time especially for those who wanted a cheaper, more affordable sports car.

The RX-8 is a rear wheel drive 4 door coupe, although the rear doors can only be accessed after opening the front doors as there are only 2 door handles on the exterior of the car, making the exterior design pretty unusual for a sports car. Besides that the RX-8 is known for having a unique type of engine specifically used in some Mazda cars called a rotary engine, which hasn’t been used in any other sports car or supercar.

Unfortunately the same unique rotary engine that made the RX-8 famous, was also the cause of it’s downfall. The RX-8’s engine had only a maximum of 238 hp and even lower end sports cars like the Nissan 370Z or the Audi S5 Coupe for example would have at least 300 hp. Additionally the RX-8 also had a terrible fuel economy which didn’t go well for the car either and this and the lack of performance resulted in declining sales.

Finally due to the lack of sales and stricter emission laws, Mazda discontinued the RX-8 in 2012. The RX-8 remains Mazda’s last RX series sports car.

Though it’s been years since the RX-8 has been discontinued, it is still remembered by the car enthusiasts for it’s unique design, engine and properties.