Mazda RX8 – Prepare For the Jump to Hyperspace

There’s been a lot of hype this week surrounding the new Star Trek film, crazily entitled Star Trek. The positive reviews have been overflowing, with the origins-based film being hailed as one of, if not the best film of the franchise. Regardless of whether I’ve watched the various television series or films there’s always been one element that always gets me excited – the jump to hyperspace. You know the bit, where the captain of the Starship Enterprise is in trouble and gets everyone out of it by pressing a button that sends them into a blur with stars flashing by at unimaginable speed. I’ve always wanted to recreate that sensation, initially with Lego as a child but nowadays my best bet is a Mazda RX8.

Yep the Japanese coupe may not seem the most obvious choice for making the scenery go blurry when you plant your right foot, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised. When Mazda pensioned off the RX7, it was at a time when many car manufacturers had experimented with rotary engine technology and given up the ghost. Once deemed the engine of the future, rotary units allowed cars to rev to heights never thought possible. It also meant that an engine as small in capacity as a 1.3 litre could produce over 200bhp.

The downside was that despite the small capacity, rotary engines drank more than George Best, were not environmentally friendly and worst of all, not very reliable. Yet where others failed, Mazda made a success of housing a rotary engine in the RX7, which to this day is a Japanese icon. With Ford’s input, Mazda decided that they could develop the rotary engine further to improve reliability, reduce emissions and improve fuel economy. In other words, right the wrongs of its predecessor.

Even if the rotary engine could be improved, it was in essence a sports car engine. Therefore Mazda man collecting his pension in a Mazda saloon revving to 9,000 rpm was not an option. What Mazda needed was a car that would be a bone fide sports car and seat a family in one stylish package. Despite this oxymoron, Mazda somehow achieved its goal with the RX8.

To look at the RX8 is pure sports car. To drive the car is pure sports car. Yet you’ll find yourself turning your head 180 degrees and seeing two beaming children looking back at you. So how have Mazda managed to make a success of a car that combines an engine design no-one can grasp and a family sports car combination that seems impossible?
Let’s start with the styling. The car is perfectly proportioned with a long bonnet bulging aggressively at the front and a stumpy rear complimenting. So many sports car makers extend the boot to fit golf clubs and ruin the lines as a result. It’s a relief that Mazda haven’t fallen into this trap, although this means that practicality isn’t a strong point. Huge 18 inch wheels adorn the car and ably fill the corresponding bulging wheel arches. The lines flow smoothly and crucially make the back end much higher than the front, enabling the rear occupants the luxury of headroom.

And so to the rear seating. In any coupe that claims to have rear seats, you either need to be the size of a hamster to fit in, or have the agility of a cat to clamber past the passenger seat into the back. The RX8 cunningly overcomes this problem, firstly by having decent sized seats and secondly, by ingeniously overcoming the access problem.
The simple answer would surely be to add another door? Well…that’s basically what Mazda has done, but they’ve managed to retain the look of a two-door coupe. By adding ‘suicide doors’ that open the opposite way the front ones (and are half the size) you can get into the back easily. Problem solved.

So the engine and why it’s like Star Trek. The two rotary derivatives produce 192 and 231bhp respectively.  It’s the 231 we’ll be going wobbly legged over. Top speed is 150mph, but we don’t care about that. Nor do we care that the manual says the RX8 will cover the 0-60mph dash in 6 seconds. The reality is that it feels much, much faster. With the instruments laid out in front of you like the deck on a spaceship and the leather racing seats holding you in place, the RX8 is quick to 7,000rpm and then everything really does go hyperspace blurry up to 9,000rpm.