Mazda has been producing rotary engines since the year dot and they’ve become the company’s trademark long after others have given up on the idea. Yet rotary engines – like the new Mazda RX-8’s – are hard to justify.
Compared to a piston engine, they were always known for gobbling fuel, using oil and suffering from premature wear. The upside is they sound fantastic and go like the clappers, the RX-8’s revving to 9000rpm before the rev limiter calls time.
The Mazda RX-8 was originally launched in 2003 and has just undergone a facelift emerging as the RX8 R3. It’s got the latest RENESIS twin-rotor engine in which, after donkeys years of development, most of those problems have been licked. It’s also had a makeover in other areas too.
Right, so what’s new on the Mazda RX-8 R3?
Externally, there’s a standard Sports Styling Pack with new front bumper, side skirts, rear wing and the RX-8 also gets 19-inch wheels clad with 225/40 tyres. But as you discover from the driving seat in the first half mile, there have been a few changes under the skin.
The bodyshell has been stiffened and dampers, springs, bushes and anti-roll bars revised including the use of Bilstein sports suspension and a urethane-filled front cross member. At the rear, the multi-link suspension has been tuned to improve both the ride and handling.
The RENESIS rotary engine has undergone a few subtle changes too, such as an improved oil metering system (the engine mixes tiny amounts of oil with the fuel to lubricate the rotor tips) and there’s a new type of knock sensor.
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