The keenly awaited Mazda RX-8 put in an appearance at the Durban Motor Show last weekend. If it goes as well as it looks sports car lovers shouldn’t find themselves disappointed, and there’s no reason to believe that it won’t.
With a new generation naturally aspirated rotary engine employing twin rotors displacing 654cc each the 1,3 litre car delivers a top whack of just under 240 km/hr, and blitzes its way to 100 km/hr in a shade over six seconds. Those who’ve experienced earlier Mazda rotary offerings know that power delivery can be explosive, and this one should follow the trend. There’s 170 kW on tap at a lofty 8 200 rpm, and 211 Nm of torque from 5 500 rpm. Mazda claims that the new engine – named Renesis – has eliminated the earlier rotary bugbears of high fuel consumption and dirty exhaust emissions.
But the real beauty of the latest Mazda sports car is that it’s actually very practical. Head room is relatively generous, and despite its pure two seater sports car appearance it seats four in reasonable comfort. Although you can’t see them in the picture there are a pair of back doors that allow easy access to the rear seats. The doors are hinged at the back, allowing wide opening. Popular in the earlier part of the last century, these gained the name “suicide doors” because any attempt to open them at speed resulted in the wind whipping the door open and the passenger being lobbed into the ditch. The Mazda’s rear door handles can only be reached when the front doors are open, so that risk is now no longer with us. Boot space is also pretty healthy, with 290 litres available for luggage.
Pricing is expected to be in the vicinity of R320 000 when the car is launched next month.