Mazda RX-8 News

  • Rotary engine

    The last rotary-powered car from Mazda rolled off its production line in Japan on Friday, a 2011 Mazda RX-8 Spirit R sold only in the Japanese domestic market. With no successor confirmed, we may never see a rotary engine in a production car ever again, though those at Mazda certainly don’t want to see it this way. Part of the reason for its demise is its terrible fuel economy, which is around 40 percent worse than a conventional internal combustion engine with comparable performance. The engine, first launched in the 1967 Mazda Cosmo, did have its pluses, however. From the tidy...

  • 2011 Mazda RX-8 Spirit R
    Mazda Extends RX-8 Production Due To Strong Demand In Japan

    Mazda will extend production of its RX-8 sports car by 1,000 units due to overwhelming demand for the special RX-8 Spirit R final edition.

  • Rotary engine
    Mazda Working On New Rotary Engine With Skyactiv Tech?

    Mazda's next rotary engine may yet be a few years in development to meet fuel economy and emissions requirements.

  • 2011 Mazda RX-8 Spirit R
    Mazda Sending Out RX-8 With Special Edition Spirit R

    Mazda has unveiled a Japan-only special edition RX-8 Spirit R to celebrate the end of production of its unique Wankel rotary powered sports car.

  • 2010 Mazda RX-8
    Mazda Ends RX-8 Production, No Rotary Successor In Sight

    Mazda has reportedly ceased production of its RX-8 sports car, the only rotary-powered vehicle currently on the market, and possibly the last. The reason is due to falling sales and an inability to meet toughening emissions and fuel economy regulations all around the world. Last year Mazda only...

  • 2009 Mazda RX-8
    Is Mazda's Rotary Engine Program Dead?

    Mazda has halted further development of a replacement for their Renesis rotary engine, at least for now.

  • Rotary Supers Cars Predator GT preview

    Remember the awesome four-rotor Mazda 787B race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 20 years ago and is now set to run the famous French circuit during a demonstration ahead of this weekend’s 24 hour race? Well, it turns out that the 787B’s appearance this weekend won't be the last time we get to see a rotary powered car with a four-rotor Wankel engine. A company based in Germany by the name of Rotary Supers Cars (RSC) is working on just such a car and has now released this new rendering of it. Late last year RSC released an initial preview of the car, which was then called the...

  • Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed
    Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed: First Impressions

    Thanks to the kind folk at EA Games we've got hold of a copy of the latest game in the long-running Need For Speed franchise, Shift 2 Unleashed (S2U), in PlayStation 3 format. As with the previous Shift title, Unleashed errs more on the simulation side of racing titles rather than the franchise's...

  • mazda taiki concept motorauthority2023
    Report: Mazda RX-9 Will Develop 300 Horsepower From New Rotary Engine

    As we reported last month, Mazda has no plans to abandon its Wankel rotary engine despite the automaker struggling to meet new fuel economy and emissions standards with its latest designs. The Mazda RX-8 is currently the only production car on the market with a rotary engine but it will be phased...

  • 2010 Mazda RX-8
    Report: Mazda RX-8 To Be Killed Off After 2011

    The Wankel-powered sports car will eventually be replaced by another, possibly the RX-7.

  • 2010 Opel Meriva leak
    2010 Opel Meriva Revealed

    Production of the new Opel Meriva will kick-off at a plant in Saragossa, Spain shortly after the model’s debut at March’s 2010 Geneva Motor Show.

  • 2007 Mazda Furai Concept
    Report: New Mazda RX-7 May Replace RX-8

    Due for launch in late 2011, the new car is expected to eschew outright performance and prestige in favor of affordability and reliability.

  • 2009 Mazda RX-8 R3

    It's been six years since the Mazda RX-8 came on the scene and brought with it a sublime combo of handling, equipment, features, and pricing. Whether you're a rotary engine fan or not, you have to recognize the job Mazda did tuning the car's chassis. But now reports are beginning to break that an updated model may be on its way to this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. A facelifted model was released for the 2009 model year in the U.S., along with a slightly revised version called the RX-8 R3. For more on that car and how it stacks up to the competition, check out our review. But the new report...

  • Mazda Rotary engine with direct injection patent
    Patent application reveals new direct-injection rotary engine from Mazda

    Mazda's renowned rotary Wankel engine has been a staple in some of the carmaker’s sports cars for the last 44 years, with its first appearance in 1965 and its continuing application in the current RX-8 model. Throughout that period the engine has gone through a number of significant changes...

  • The Mazda2 is one of Maeda's designs
    Ikuo Maeda takes lead at Mazda design

    The car industry's design shakeup isn't over yet, folks. Today has already seen a new head of design at Volvo and at Ford of the Americas, but now the former Ford-family brand, Mazda, has also decided to change things up. Replacing Laurens van den Acker, Ikuo Maeda takes the helm of Mazda's design...

  • mazda6 circuit trial concept leak 001
    Mazda6 'Circuit Trial' images surface before 2009 Tokyo Auto Show

    The Tokyo Auto Salon will feature a number of firsts from Mazda and many other carmakers, including a new range of 'Circuit Trial' track-ready concepts. The Tokyo show will be running in opposition to the similarly-timed Detroit Auto Show, starting January 9, explaining Mazda's absence from the...

  • Revealed: 2009 Mazda RX-8 facelift
    Revealed: 2009 Mazda RX-8 facelift

    Mazda officials have no plans to replace the RX-8 sports car anytime soon, instead choosing to release a facelifted version as seen here in completely undisguised form. More of an update rather than a major overhaul, changes to the car will consist of a new set of bumpers, revised taillights and...

  • Special edition Mazda RX-8 Kuro
    Special edition Mazda RX-8 Kuro

    Mazda has launched another special edition RX-8 that’s set to go on sale at the end of this month with only 250 copies available. Labeled the Kuro, which means ‘black’ in Japanese, the latest version of the RX-8 doesn’t offer any upgrades to the drivetrain but instead...

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