Jeremy Clarkson has written a review of the RX-8 here (Times Online) (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,588-814284,00.html) .

He likes it!

Notable quotes: (talking about coupes) Joining the ancient Alfa GTV, the Toyota Celica — which is very good incidentally — and the Hyundai Coupé — which is even better — will be the Chrysler Crossfire (a Mercedes SLK in a fairly pretty shell), and the Nissan 350Z, which is better looking but a bit of a pig to drive. It’s just so wearing. Best of all, though, is the new Mazda RX-8

It may only be a 1.3 litre engine (in normal engine terms) but the power it delivers is astonishing: 231bhp. And it just gets better and better as the revs begin the climb. Get past 7000rpm and it’s like you’ve pressed a hyperspace button.

It handles, too. Unlike most coupés this one sends its power to the proper end of the car —— the back. So the front does the steering, the rear does the driving and you sit in the middle wondering why all cars don’t feel this way; so balanced, so right and omigod I’ve just gone past 7000rpm again and it’s all gone blurry.

The best bit of this car, though, is the price: £22,000 is remarkable value for money, especially as my car had an interior that was not only nicely trimmed but also equipped like the innards of Cheyenne Mountain.

This is a very good car with an exceptional engine.

Regards,
Gordon

nice
I want that rear fog light still

He says the rotor spins 9000 times a minute.. is that correct?

Isn't there like a ratio of 3:1 for the rotor orbit? Is it 3 times as fast as the gauge RPM or 3 times behind??

edit: doh... I meant minute.. hahah

I thought you were gonna say kelly clarkson from "American Idol" fame. LOL :D

Can't wait for him to bring the 8 for a spin on the new season of Top Gear. Even better if he would get 'Stick' to get a decent track time out of it.

Originally posted by RX-Nut
He says the rotor spins 9000 times a second.. is that correct?



I thought it was per minute...was I confused again?

Originally posted by Elara
I thought it was per minute...was I confused again?

No, Elara, you're right - Clarkson did specifically say the rotors are turning at 9000 revolutions per minute.

Unfortunately, Clarkson is wrong - when the Renesis engine crankshaft is turning at 9000 rpm, the rotors are only turning at 3000 rpm, since the eccentric shaft to rotor gearing is 3:1... Clarkson is a celebrity who pretends to know about cars, but his columns in the newspaper and in Top Gear are read by a huge number of people in the UK and they also watch his show. His opinion carries a great deal of weight!

Regards,
Gordon

when the Renesis engine crankshaft is turning at 9000 rpm, the rotors are only turning at 3000 rpm, since the eccentric shaft to rotor gearing is 3:1

I had no idea, is that same ratio applied to piston engine such as the s2000?

Originally posted by PoLaK


I had no idea, is that same ratio applied to piston engine such as the s2000?

No - pistons don't rotate, they go up and down (reciprocate, thus reciprocating engine). For each revolution of the crankshaft, each piston will travel up and down its cylinder once.

Regards,
Gordon

Clarkson sux......
i'd rather watch Tiff Needell drive it...
Tiff drives so much better the Clarkson

Originally posted by rx7 rage
I thought you were gonna say kelly clarkson from "American Idol" fame. LOL :D I was thinking the same thing!:p

This guy is great!

Originally posted by PoLaK
I had no idea, is that same ratio applied to piston engine such as the s2000?

This page will give yo rally good understanding of the rotary engine.

http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com/RE101pages/2-mechanics101.html

This will explain it all quite well. Be sure to hit NEXT after you read this page to see the gearing explaination.

http://www.rotaryengineillustrated.com

Clarkson knows nothing about how cars work, any kind (self admited).

And his reviews are more about him(and his ego) than anything else, but he's great at judging how good/bad a car is. He may not get technical things right, but he always gets his feeeling abot the car across.

And from that review he likes the RX-8. He can be realy cruel sometimes, in this months top gear magazine he has such a go at the new BMW Z4, I havnt seen him slate a car that bad since the Z3 :)

renotse
thats for the link
great info

Originally posted by RobDickinson
Clarkson knows nothing about how cars work, any kind (self admited).

And his reviews are more about him(and his ego) than anything else, but he's great at judging how good/bad a car is. He may not get technical things right, but he always gets his feeeling abot the car across.

And from that review he likes the RX-8. He can be realy cruel sometimes, in this months top gear magazine he has such a go at the new BMW Z4, I havnt seen him slate a car that bad since the Z3 :)

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that is frekin funny!
________
Lovely Wendie99 (http://www.lovelywendie99.com/)