So lets assume for a minute now that the power has been reduced down to S2000 levels (perhaps even more), and we know the S2000 gets better mileage. Would you swap the Rotary in your car for the S2000 engine if it was simply a check box on the order form and it didn't effect ANYTHING else?

I'm not asking to start a war or anything, I just wanted to guage how important the fact that it is a rotary, or if Mazda had produced a similar engine to the S2000 whether you would still buy it, or be more inclined to buy it.

no rotary = no buy

I concur.

Rotary= primary reason I'm buying the RX-8

I guess they answered your question


ROTARY

If I had the option of a 4 banger or a rotary at the same power levels I would have probably chosen the 4 banger since it's what I know, but after living with the rotary a month I have to say that having finally experienced the engine I would have chosen the rotary.

Who am I kidding, I like the unusual. Probably would have gone rotary anyways even if I had the choice just for the experience.

I wasn't even in the market for a new car this year and wouldn't have pre-ordered if the 8 wasn't a rotary.

RX8 - RotaryEngine = BuyPickupTruck;


That's what I was going to get until I saw this baby, and could continue my 17-yr love affair with the rotary.

Bought mine for the looks, performance, price, handeling. Not because its a rotary.

For me, it's always been about the rotary - not the hp, 0-60 or 1/4. I am grateful to the whiners that potentially led to my free maintenance and $500. But the car is everything I want and expected just the way it is. I haven't needed no stinkin' pistons for 18 years!:D

Originally posted by TreknMazda
For me, it's always been about the rotary - not the hp, 0-60 or 1/4. I am grateful to the whiners that potentially led to my free maintenance and $500. But the car is everything I want and expected just the way it is. I haven't needed no stinkin' pistons for 18 years!:D

spoken like a true rotorhead! :D

oh yeah, no rotors = no RX-8 for me as well :D

with all due respect, this is kind of a strange question... if it didn't have a rotary it wouldn't be an RX car; and they'd call it something else (but they probably wouldn't make such a thing anyway). it would be like bacon cheeseburger without the bacon. would you get a honda sports car if it loses the vtec? :D

so no, no rotary = no RX-8, for me, too ;)

but if mazda produced an s2000 type of engine, that'd be totally sweet. put it in the miata

Originally posted by highspeed8
I wasn't even in the market for a new car this year and wouldn't have pre-ordered if the 8 wasn't a rotary.

Ditto - I wasn't really in the market for a new car, but I've always been a rotary fan (I have a '90 and '95 rx7). After all the buildup I saw one at my local dealer and just had to go have a look at it. At that moment I knew I had to own one, so I found a dealer with some inventory that wasn't already pre-bought (actually the car I ended up with had a deposit on it but the buyer went awol for some time so the dealer sold it to me) and that's it.

I've only owned two cars in my life that weren't rotary powered... One was when I lived in another country and the other one is a Jeep for offroading, and I think it would be cool to whack a 20B in it :-)

So yeah - the engine was the major factor for me and the looks/styling were what closed the deal.

Simon.

there's always one.

in this case it's me, this will be my first experience of a rotary engine (assuming I ever get it, suddenly things are looking bad at work)

the main appeal for me was that it was different, free style doors, weight distribution, rear wheel drive.

it appears to be a good successor to my ageing MX-6, and will hopefully be rarer than the Audi TT's, BMW 3 series, boxter etc.. which are endemic in my part of the world.

I've always loved that my '6 is such a rare sight on the road (i still get loads of people asking what it is) it's performed brilliantly and reliably

these are all things that would be enough to tempt me, but the price/rotar power is just the icing on the cake.

so, would i buy it if it had a 2 litre 230 bhp 4 pot? probably yes.

I would not swap the engine for a 4 pot... NEVER!

ROTARY ROTARY ROTARY ROTARY ROTARY ROTARY

**Does that answr the question? :D

Thanks for your responses guys! Personally myself, I'm interested in the car despite it being rotary. Now before you getg your panties in a knot, allow me to explain. Most of this opinion was formed from the infamous 3rd Gen RX7 engines (albeit no real investigation one way or another - just what you hear). The other problem was that I'm used to a high reving car that can be caught off guard. You've probably been there before, you're sitting at a light and all of a sudden the 6 or 8 cylinder beside you takes off without warning and you can't do anything about it unless you want to go faster than the speed limit. So when it came time to looking for another car, I swore I wouldn't get another 4 cylinder without a turbo attached to it. When the 8 came out, all of a sudden there was another player, by far looking better than ANY of its competition that I was considering. Saw a video of it lapping Laguna and another one on a country road somehwere and it looked like a real fun drive. The only question mark remained for me was the rotary - high reving engine.

Thankfully, I'm not in a position to buy a car just yet anyway so I have some time to rethink my options. To me, a lot of the gratification from a car should be its looks and its feel, not necessarily which one can get to the 1/4 mile mark the fastest. The truth is that it will become a daily driver and you spend 99% of your driving in traffic so it better have more to it than a honkin engine. Okay now I'm just rambling...

If it did'nt have a rotary I would be driveing an STI right now.

I would probably have considered the car if it had a piston engine based on it's looks, handling, size, fun and practicality (for my situation); but the rotary engine made me fall in love with it. Mazda would have to pay me in order for me to return it.

Originally posted by 5Gen_Prelude
Now before you get your panties in a knot...

I prefer to call them manties. ;)

Main reason i'm buying one is the rotary...Its just addicting

I would have probably still considered it if it was V6 but i'll never buy a 4 banger no matter what type of car it is.

Just spent 2 hrs and about 100 miles driving a 2003 S2000 yesterday. The F20 hitting VTEC does sound nice and runs great but is so dang loud in that car. Not near as smooth as the Rotary. It seems to have less power than the RX-8 until it hits VTEC over 6K or so, then it's a rocket. The 8 builds evenly from 1k all the way up to 7K, then "mine" seems to level out.

My answer would be no I don't really care that it has a Rotary but I'm glad it does (MPG aside). I think the S2000 would be an awesome car with the 13B in it. :D

I believe the RX-8 was built around the RENESIS, so I doubt the same package would have been acheived with a piston engine.

The whole package is what attracted me.

I'd rather walk than buy a piston powered car.


No Rotor, No Motor :D

Originally posted by RX-Late
Bought mine for the looks, performance, price, handeling. Not because its a rotary. Ditto.

I was in the market for the same car that gave me the combination of handling*** (most important), fun-to-drive, telepathy in feel and precision, and of course, price point.

The fact the RX-8 is a rotary only helps it to achieve the handling aspect with ease, because of the weight saved by that engine and the placement of that engine.

It also helps that it's a peaky engine that likes to rev... it's a lot of fun to wind it out.

rotary dosen't matter much to me. but then again, I dont "appreciate it" :)

I agree with RX-Late and Hercules.

I too was in the market for a manual RWD car with looks, handling, performance, functionality (rear seats), be fun-to-drive and was within my price range 30-40K. The fact that it was a rotary was an added bonus to me.

It was the overall package that attracted and sold me on the car, not specifically the fact it was a rotary.

OK, I must be the antithesis for all of you. I was actually in the market for a FWD, 4 banger, Acura RSX Type-S...ouch! , I should have said that later on. Well, my fault. That was until I saw what the 8 looked in person....Dallas Auto Show.

By that time I had heard a handful of rumours about rotaries (some pretty good...some others pretty disastrous.) All in all, what convinced me was the promise of a 10 year development and improvement of a 'one of a kind' engine; and the overall idea of a road-hugging, 4 wheel(ed), gas propelled vehicle....with heck! RWD.

So here I am, my first rotary....What would I have done if the car wasn't gutted with a rotary?....well, just to make it complicated on you guys: Acura would still be waiting for me.

:D

Edit: Now, knowing how a rotary feels and sounds....the answer is no ROTARY, no MONEY!

For me the rotary is key, but it's more than that. I searched the market for two years before deciding to get my 8, and it's the total package. I'm sick of the mindless, unimaginative, mass produced crap coming out of Detroit and elsewhere.

Finally, a car that is designed by some people with brains. Thoughtful art on wheels (in my price range). Being a natural contrarian, this car is perfect for me.

No rotor = The daily driver would still be a 01 Hyundai Elantra GLS.
Rick

I'll say what I have told people from time to time for 13 years: "The rotary is just a fun fun engine to drive..." I have been waiting for its return since 1995.

Add one more to the "No rotor motor? I would've bought a different car" column.

I'm one of the few that would still hold interest. My main interest to this point in the 8 is due to: relative lightweight, 50/50, rwd...basically good handling attributes. Of course if a pistonator compromised things like weight and distribution, my interest would falter. Really, what I'd want from the engine would be to remain light and small (and in that case, I'm willing to sacrifice torque for a zingy top-y powerband). However the apparent smoothness of the rotary is a plus over what you'd have to do to a 4-banger to achieve the same specs.


But truth be told, in the end as a daily driver, if Honda offered something of a coupe version of the S2000 for $25-28k, I would probably go for that instead...I'd take peaky power + some more engine noise for the increase in gas mileage and in my mind, slightly more comfort/confidence in service, reliability, and overall company rep.

The only reason I ordered my RX8 18 months ago, sight unseen, specifications unknown, was because of the rotary. I have always loved the smooth power of the rotary engine. My first rotary was a 1973 RX3, then a 1979 RX7, and finally a 1993 RX7, each ordered new and kept for many years.....

Now I have the RX8 and it's nice, but it just doesn't do it for me! Now I regret selling my 93' RX7 to have enough cash to buy this RX8. It's not as much fun to drive, doesn't attract as much attention, and frankly will lose more in value over the next 2-3 years that my old RX7 would be free.

I'm selling the RX8 back to Mazda and am going to buy a late model Miata, put a Jackson Racing supercharger, header, and exhaust system and go have cheap, fast fun!

trade a rx8 for a miata
I dont think so