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Heard a piece about the new Mazda RX8 on the radio this aft' - sounds a very, very nice car. Rotary engine, 4 doors (2 rear doors open backwards & allow better access), enough room in the back for 2 adults (big problem with Toyota Celica) ll starating from about £19k or thereabarts ! Anyone know any more about it ? I'd be interested to know what the reliability is likely to be and whether there are any inherent problems or prohibitive costs associated with the rotary unit. Seem to remember the old RX7 had a Wankel rotary engine and people raved about it. Anyone got any more info ?
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Stunning motor isn't it Volvoman?
Also interested to know reliability and perhaps more importantly longevity levels.
Colleague reckons about 100k on a set of rotors on his 1990 RX7 - the engine is amazing but someone buying a brand new motor in 2003 doesn't expect a full engine rebuild at that kind of mileage as a matter of course.
One of the few cars to look absolutely amazing in yellow (in my opinion of course!)
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I have had a few RX7s and have found them to be stunningly fast and with a MPG of around 18 to 22.Never had any engine problems but a couple of poor running problems that Rotechniks of Reading sorted out without drama or high cost.Keep them away from anybody other than a specialist,ordinary mechanics do not understand them.
My first car in 1977 was a Mazda RX3 coupe,15-20 mpg on 2 star fuel,fantastic car compared to the rest of the stuff available then(cost me £400) 2 years old!No problems with that either.
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I had the little R100 coupe and later an RX4 saloon, both nippy and good in their day, once Bridgestone bothered with tyres suited to the UK. There was no trouble, other than thirst and the dreaded tin-worm, but some people grossly over-revved the smooth motors and did in the rotor tip seals. They went fine on fifty/fifty petrol/paraffin, but the smell tended to give the show away; the Lenzie petrol station had, it happened, a self service paraffin pump in an obscure corner. The RX4 would produce a very loud bang if switched off for a couple of seconds and on again, which could provide amusement on the road adjacent to the golf course if a stroke was being played!
Sadly, the RX4 passed to my brother who panicked at 13 mpg on one outing (leadfoot indeed!) and passed it to a person who contrived to replace the motor with some Ford lump. It would have been more fun to put the rotary in a Ford; but at least, it finished up as a beautifully finished sectioned exhibit in a technical college.
What I'd have liked would have been a late (after Mazda had sorted them out) NSU RO80.
This RX8 may well be a cracker and I'd love to try one, but I've never been able to look as if I might buy something except when I was probably going to - not cheeky enough, I suppose.
Tomo
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"It would have been more fun to put the rotary in a Ford"
Absolutely! Lots of lovely RO80's were ruined by the substitution of Ford V4's, possibly the roughest engine of its day.
Nice to know that Mazda are sticking with a rotary-engined model when everyone else makes do with the reciprocating stuff. Citroen put one in a GS once, which must have been huge fun...
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