Coupe with a twist

The last new rotar-engined sportscar was released in 1991, the FD RX-7. This shape was used on all RX-7's, including the storming twin-turbo versions.

Before this, only three companies - including Mazda - tried engineering the rotary engine for mass production.

Citroen gave up due to technical difficulties, and NSU had serious reliability problems and went bust. Mazda almost went under several times during the rotary's inception, which was the idea of self-taught German engineer, Felix Wankel.

Eventually Mazda overcame the obstacles and engineered a reliable, low-emission twin-rotar engine.

But rotaries differ from conventional four-stroke, piston driven engines. They use two or three rotars, which in Mazda's case are usually 654cc - quite large.

Basically a triangular 'piston' sits in a peanut-shaped 'cylinder' which rotates while orbiting. The rotar's three edges create pefect 'seals' in the chamber, each one filling with petrol and air, then combusting and exhuasting.

Beyond that, the idea gets quite complex and rather tricky, so not to look like fools, click here if you want more info on how exactly a rotary engine works.

So, some ten years down the track and Mazda has finally finished work on both a new rotary engine and also a new car - the RX-8.

Mazda is working hard to keep the price of the RX-8 competitive, and rightly so - the Nissan 350Z will sell for under 60 large and will offers similar performance, albeit with two fewer seats.

So what is this RX-8 everyone's talking about? In a nutshell, it's a front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports coupe, designed to go fast in a straight line and also around corners.

Coming in June of 2003, the RX-8 will be offered in two states of tune - one high-performance model and one slightly more sedated version.

The 'Standard Power' model offers 154kW @ 7200rpm, and has a 7500rpm redline. Peak torque is 222Nm @ 5000rpm, which is transferred to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic gearbox, complete with steering-wheel mounted quick-shifters.

The 'High Power' model, would you believe, makes less torque than its stablemate, producing 216Nm @ 5500rpm.

But it does get a few extra goodies over the 'Standard' model, such as a six-speed, close ratio manual gearbox and higher rev ceiling - how does a 9000rpm redline sound? Peak power is also much greater, offering 184kW @ 8500rpm.

That's 184kW, or almost 250hp, from an engine the same size as those found in Toyota's compact car, the Echo, which incidentally makes 63kW @ 6000rpm.

Standing start times for the new Mazda are 6.0 seconds flat from 0-100km/h for the more powerful RX-8, while the four-speed automatic's figures are yet to be released - expect about 8.0 seconds though.

The new Renesis engine is truly a work of art, incorporating side intake and side exhaust ports, which have approximately 30 per cent more intake area than the previous Mazda rotary, which in turn realises a greatly reduced intake flow resistance.

The engine's sequential dynamic intake system and electronic throttle control system deliver high power unparalleled in a naturally aspirated unit, with fuel efficiency and emissions also substantially improved over the previous engine.

Fuel efficiency has been improved by about 20 per cent in city driving compared with the RX-7, which are significant gains and testament to the fact that Mazda is serious about the Wankel engine.

It makes you wonder - what if Mazda decides to resurrect the RX-7 in a couple of years, sticking to the car's twin-turbocharged heritage? Indeed, with a couple of sequential turbos, some extra plumbing and an intercooler, the Renesis engine could be 350kW Porsche killer.

Performance is obviously going to be one of the RX-8's biggest selling points, but let's not forget the barn-style doors either, which Audi is already looking at cloning for its upcoming A4 Coupe.

The RX-8 was designed to accommodate four adults in comfort, and while the suicide doors created many problems during the design process (such as side-impact crashworthiness), the end result is both retro, and satisfyingly unique.

The RX-8's body shell has no centre pillars, and features this freestyle door system with front and rear doors opening from the centre, allowing effortless vehicle entry and exit. Front doors are fully open at a hinge angle of about 70-degrees, and rear doors at about 85-degrees.

Furthermore, the Mazda tech-heads went out of their way to create an interior that wouldn't cramp rear-seat passengers:

Firstly, to assure sufficient headroom for front and rear passengers, they lowered the cabin floor by optimally locating the exhaust manifold, catalytic converter and related components, creating a lower seating position for cabin occupants.

Step outside, and it's easy to see why everyone is going crazy for the RX-8. Arguably one of Japan's most inspired coupes, the car is a real head-turner, with the overriding design theme for the exterior labelled as "Athletic Tension" by the Mazda spin merchants.

A powerful continuity of surfaces begins at the front air intake, and runs along the body sides to the boot lid. The new-look front-end is aggressive and sleek, while keeping within Mazda's new design DNA, and design elements such as the rotor shaped power bulge will have rotary enthusiasts foaming at the mouth.

Other features like the unique headlamp design and the combination lamps with mechanical overtones, and massive 18-inch aluminium wheels, demonstrate a close attention to detail that conveys an emotional message to sports car enthusiasts.

Mazda designed the RX-8's chassis to deliver an undiluted sports car driving experience through exceptional handling and control, while thoroughly suppressing road noise and vibration for a comfortable ride.

The low bonnet design, enabled by the advanced front midship powertrain layout of the RX-8, allows the use of Mazda's newly developed in-wheel type double wishbone front suspension.

Upper and lower arms are mounted on a highly rigid sub-frame, and the long arms ensure linear alignment changes with jounce and rebound of the front wheels.

To obtain linear control of compliance behaviour in response to input of external forces, upper and lower arm bushing has been given a new zero stopper clearance structure.

Additionally, the front suspension employs mono-tube gas-filled dampers with large diameter pistons, and the damper lever ratio has been raised to improve damping efficiency.

At the rear, the RX-8 employs a new multi-link (5 links per side) suspension system. Links have extended length and are optimally arranged to maintain correct geometry and compliance to keep tyres in stable contact with the road at all times. The idea being to achieve superior handling stability, ride comfort and low road noise at both low and high speed.

The RX-8 comes equipped with newly developed rack-drive electric power steering rig that Mazda claims transmits just the right amount of road information back to the driver.

As for safety systems, Mazda hasn't skimped here either, with 'active safety' mainly concerning the brakes and their ability to provide the stopping power required for real sports car driving. On the 'passive safety' front, Mazda developed a body shell that delivers world-class collision safety performance, in spite of its centre pillarless construction.

Also included as standard on all models are 4W-ABS (4-wheel Anti-lock Brake System) and EBD, as well as DSC (Dynamic Stability Control). These measures allow drivers to experience the excitement of genuine sports driving backed by extremely reliable active safety.

Also equipped with a dual-stage deployment SRS (Supplemental Restraint System) airbag on the driver's side and standard SRS airbag system on the passenger's side, the RX-8 is no tin can (SRS curtain airbags and side airbags are also provided).

What more needs to be said? The RX-8 is coming to Australia and it is looking seriously hot. The look, the unqiue engine configuration, the 18-inch wheels and the all the other triangular references - it's just too much - we just have to have one! But the difference between wanting and getting are two very distant ideas...

This begs the question: is there a market for $60,000+ coupes in Australia? The Monaro proves that given the right engine and exterior styling, yes, there is a market. And, with the arrival of the Nissan 350Z and now the Mazda RX-8 in 2003, the performance sports coupe genre will be more populated than ever before.

The Mazda RX-8 will go on sale in Australia in July 2003 and will priced below $70,000.