'Bout time we see a rotary on the cover of a mag. :)
Glad it's R&T and not C&D. Hot damn.. :D

http://www.strages.homestead.com/files/cover.gif
http://www.strages.homestead.com/files/sideport.jpg

Kewl. I check the R&T web site, but no hint on the new cover. When does it hit the US newsstands? And how did you get a scan first?

The April issue is out for R&T subscribers already. Those of us "newstanders" will have to wait about a week. :(

Great way to kick-start this forum, imho. ;)

Somebody beat me to the punch, and I do believe that RT is owned by the same people as CD. Such as SCC and Turbo are owned by the same people

Man my local post office is horrible.

At home, I used to receive my new magazines by about the 5th of the month. Here at school, I'm lucky if I get it before the 15th. The post office has been audited/cited/whatever by the government 2-3 times in the past 2 years for unreliable and incredibly slow service. At one point I received a piece of mail that was postmarked 2.5 weeks before it arrived. :rolleyes:

Isn't part of the draw of subscribing so that you can get it before it reaches the newsstands? That sure doesn't happen with me. I have to keep myself from reading them at the grocery store so I can get my subscription money's worth.

SOMEBODY SCAN AND POST PLEASE

Originally posted by edv
SOMEBODY SCAN AND POST PLEASE

This same thread is in the Rx7forum.com with about 30 replies and no one still scanned the article, and there's 11,000 members there, we only have like 180 members so don't expect someone to scan the article anytime soon.

Originally posted by edv
SOMEBODY SCAN AND POST PLEASE

Is it that hard to go to your local book store? Surely the Chapters on Crowchild has it by now.

Originally posted by KrisA
Is it that hard to go to your local book store? Surely the Chapters on Crowchild has it by now.

You're right, of course. But damn it's too cold to go out!
It'll probably be on the other board later tonite anyway.

Just picked up the mag... WOW! :eek: The best photography of the RX-8 to date, it truely looks stunning in these pictures. Another plus of the article is the price that Mazda hinted at... 26K USD to start!

Sign me up. I'll likely wait until year 2 of production due to all of the issues with the FD3S that were corrected for 94. Now all I have to decide is what vehical to ditch in favor of the 8. Do I sell the Protege and use the RX-8 as my daily, or do I sell the MR2 and use the RX-8 as my weekend/fun car. hummm.....

I just got the magazine too. The pictures are great and all, but one of our great members was mentioned in the magazine, the great Bob Hall AKA Father of the Miata AKA BWOB. :-) did you think I didnt see you :-D

Well, I haven't gotten my issue in the mail yet, but now I'm eagerly awaiting it. I wondered why the RX-8 had gotten much press lately, looks like I'll be satisfied again. :)

Hi,
can't get the Road&Track mag where I live.
Are there any news about the release date?
What about pictures of the trunk, the backseat?
Do they think it's a real fourseater?

Many thanks for your informations...

Stefan Janssen
Germany

didnt know BWOB learned most of his japanese reading manga! or was that watching anime? anyway, this article also changed my whole perspective, I am getting an RX8 as soon as they hit the dealers.

elise, the tester said that he could sit comfortably in the RX8's rear seats with a 6 foot tall person in the front seat, with room to spare.

The lack of tq doesn't seam to be a problem because he said he could squeal tires the tires and that the car really pics up after 3500 RPM all the way up to 9000 RPM.

The car ran 0-60 in six flat, and it ran the 1/4 mile in 14.5. thats pretty damn good. And the car now weighs, 2970, it gained some weight.

2970lb, ouch! 14.5, an WRX can beat that. If thats the case looks like I won't be getting an RX8. But that car was probably a test car and those number are all wrong. The car still won't be out for another year so I do expect Mazda to have a 27xxlb car that is capable of running 14.0-13.x stock.

Whats up with the redline? I had seen photos with 8K, 9K, and 10K redlines.

I know the only thing limiting a rotary's redline is balance. So, why is it that they are only going 9000 RPM??? Is something else preventing a higher redline, such as the alternator or some other belts or fans or something?

I really wanted to see 10K redline. In my eye that would have just been a truly amazing feat.

Anyone know what is limiting the redline? Perhaps it will change?

Rexate,
I understand that perhaps the WRX can outrun the RX. However, if you are concerned only about accleration numbers, then perhaps you should be looking at a Mustang or F Body, they both accelerate faster and cost less than the RX-8 is likely to cost.

However, if you look at the cars as a whole being, including acceleration, handling, and FEEL, I would venture to guess that there will be few cars out there that will be able to compete.

It is easy to make cars have big numbers, such as GM's Corvette, but making a car have a feel that it is alive in your hands is a magic art. Mazda knows how to do this, and if you look at the Miata, its numbers are not mind boggling, but the FEEL of the Miata is quite possibly the most lively and fun vehicle you can buy anywhere in the world.

Hopefully they can work that magic on the RX-8. :)

Originally posted by Jerome81
Rexate,
I understand that perhaps the WRX can outrun the RX. However, if you are concerned only about accleration numbers, then perhaps you should be looking at a Mustang or F Body, they both accelerate faster and cost less than the RX-8 is likely to cost.

However, if you look at the cars as a whole being, including acceleration, handling, and FEEL, I would venture to guess that there will be few cars out there that will be able to compete.

It is easy to make cars have big numbers, such as GM's Corvette, but making a car have a feel that it is alive in your hands is a magic art. Mazda knows how to do this, and if you look at the Miata, its numbers are not mind boggling, but the FEEL of the Miata is quite possibly the most lively and fun vehicle you can buy anywhere in the world.

Hopefully they can work that magic on the RX-8. :)

I'm more concerned about handling, if the car will be 29xxlb then I don't see that Mazda is really concerned too much about handling. And a 14.5 is pretty unimpressive. I could go out now and get a good handling car (RSX-S) that can run mid 14s and pay around 23k. BTW I would never buy a F body or mustang, come on now. Those cars are whales. Oh and I do expect a 250hp RX8 that weights 2700lb to beat a 260hp Mustang GT that weights 3400+lb in the 1320.

Originally posted by Rexate
I'm more concerned about handling, if the car will be 29xxlb then I don't see that Mazda is really concerned too much about handling.

Lots of Porsche's and Ferrari's weigh 2900+ pounds. Are they not concerned about handling? What does that prove?

That's really a silly thing to say. How many 4 door cars are there that weigh under 3000 pounds? I would guess pretty much zero, if you leave out the compact 4 doors like Saturns and such.

BOOSTD7 is right. in the Road And Track Article, they stated that the car was very light on its feet and its also rigid and quick. As for beatin the WRX maybe not, the WRX is weak kneed below 3500 rpm and is 100 pounds heavier then the Curb Wieght Listed in Road and Track. It also has 23 less HP then the RX8. So the WRX and the RX8 might go head to head against one another quite well.

True I agree with some of the things you guys say, I just don't want to see the weight to rise and rise. If mazda decided to save some money here and there and car could easily weight past 3000lb. I rather see the car at 2700lb.

I dont think its fair to compare an RX8 to a Ferrari or Porsche, simply because the Ferrari's and Porsche's cost 3-5+ times more then an RX8 and usually have more then 350+hp. I seen Ferrari 360 racing at Indy during the Formula 1 race event there, and let me let you those things are worth every penny. Ferrari's suspension probably cost as much as the entire RX8. And a stock RX8 wouldn't have a change to even stay up with those cars unless you have a base boxter.

Well there isn't a great deal of fast sports cars with 4 doors that weight less then 3000lb and in the same price range. But I feel the Lancer EVO and WRX sti will be strong enough to run with the RX8 on the track. Though they will weigh slightly over 3000lb and be in the same price range, (though the sti may be over 30k.)

The suspension on the RX8 is exactly like that of a Porsches in the Rear and is unique to the RX8 in the front, so a Porsche isnt that bad of a comparison

Ok then lets not compare them to ferrari, porsche and other exotic cars, lets compare the Rx-8's weight to the FD Rx-7 (1992 and up) they weigh 2700lbs and the FD is one of the best handling cars ever built, the Rx-8 weighs 2950lbs and R&T says it handles extremely well. Don't call the Rx-8 a "sports car" because its not, its a 4 door sport sedan and from all the information i have about the 8 in my opinion it will out-perform most of the cars in its class (WRX, 350Z, S2000), we'll have to wait and see, but 30k or less for a fully loaded Rx-8 is a bang for the buck, considering how much the WRX and S2000 cost with some options.

I'm not sure what version of the WRX you guys get over here, but the 160kW (215hp) version we have here battles to run a 14.6, and thats with brutal 6000+rpm launches otherwise it bogs down and falls into a laggy hole!

The car suffers from bag lag below 3500rpm, and from everybody I know who has driven one they are definitely not the be all and end all as far as overall handling goes, with understeer being the main trait.

There is more to a car than it's 1/4 mile time IMHO, and chassis balance, cornering ability and overall enjoyment are higher on my list anyway.

In all honesty, and I feel for you guys over there for not having this on your market, but one of the biggest competitors the RX-8 will face here in some ways could be the MX-5 SP turbo that we have here. Mazda Australia have developed a turbo version of the MX-5 with approx 150kW that runs 14.4 at about 100mph. It retails here for about $55,500, which is cheaper than what the RX-8 will be.

What you guys have to remember too is that the RX-8 is only the beginning as far as getting rotary engined cars back on the scene. It is a compromise of building a sporty type of car with some practicality, and I think they have done a pretty good job. And if all goes well, we should see a rotary engined MX-5 varient which will be lighter and have performance greater then the RX-8.

And remember we are all hanging out for it to come out, to return the rotary engine to the showroom floors, so lets not start bagging it out before it even arrives, because any negative sentiment could jeopardise any future projects. Think about it.

I thought this thing was supposed to be a 2700 lb S2000 and 350z killer. Now it will be outclassed by a WRX.

WRX:

0-60: 5.7 sec
1/4 mile: 14.4 sec
slalom: 62.8 mph

guys the car isnt out yet and gearing hasnt been finalized, so lets see what happens ok?

I really don't care if the WRX beats the 8 by .1 in the quarter. If you want an ugly exterior* with a $20 interior, then go get a WRX, personally I like to have the interior of my car be better than a Tercel and I can give up the extra tenth off the line. :P

The 350Z is not even in the same class, it's a two door. Come on guys!

*IMO, I know some people like the WRX, just not me.

I think an important point is being overlooked. Mazda has already said they want this car to open up a new class of car. So comparing it to a rally car like the WRX serves no purpose. Nor does comparing it to any exotic. The S2000, not exactly, when you look at class of vehicle. 2 door versus 4 door, usuable back seat versus 2+2 that is almost useless. I really haven't found a good comparison and I think that is exactly what Mazda wants. I also think it is exactly what they should want.

I agree, the S2000 is not a good comparision, 2 vs 4 door, convertible vs hard-top, 32k vs 27k (estimate). The S2000 is a much better comparision to the Z3.

Off the top of my head the RX-8 compares really well to the Maxima, both 4 door, both "sport sedans", both similarly priced. The Maxima with 255hp vs the RX-8's 250 estimated. The Nissan has a curb weight of over 3,200 pounds :eek:

Maybe the IS300, maybe the Passat, but I think the Maxima is the most direct competition.

BTW, the Z8 weighs over 3,500 pounds, does that mean it doesn't handle well? ;)

Does R&T say when we can expect to see RX-8?

I saw a very small coverage on the Detroit Auto Show on Consumer Guide's site, it says 2004 Mazda RX-8.

Link (http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/editorial/features/index.cfm?act=feature02)

December 2002 at the latest. Its the 2003 Rx-8 not a 2004, which means it will be released this year.

Um, no. It could come out in 2003 and still be a 2003 model. Plenty of manufacturers release cars in mid-year for new model introductions. I'd say Spring 2003, but maybe I'm wrong.

Being in Australia it could be a month or so before we get the latest issue of Road and Track, so does anybody know if they gave any definite acceleration times as well as any in gear acceleration times like 30-50, 40-60, 80-100 etc?

Hey guys, this is my first post. As a 6+ year owner of an FD chassis, the most important thing I was looking for in the RX-8 was weight. Mazda's primary intention on this car, beside technology advertising, is to be an emotional vehicle to drive. Mazda has typically achieved this through power to weight ratio (RX-7s, Miata). Regardless of acceleration times, lower curb weight promises better braking, willingness to turn, and 'tossabiliy'. Since the Renesis engine will probably have limited output hencements, maybe squeezing 20-30 though breathing bolt-ons (after 6 years with an FD, no turbos thank you very much!), curb weight further gains importance as the main foundation to the potential of this vehicle. I thinks it's imperative that the car holds a 2850 lbs maximum weight. Personally, I'm hoping he quoted the gross weight (not curb weight), although the title bar at the end of the article did indicate curb weight.
Besides that, I'm very pleased with the design.

The RX-8 should be able to carry about 700 lbs of people and cargo, that gives it a gross vehical weight rating of about 3500lbs. So I highly doubt the 2950 was the gross. 2950 for a fully loaded model isn't too bad. A basic car should be about a 100 lbs less.

The acceleration times were guesses, there was no instumented testing.

Sorry, I meant 'weight as tested'. Typically coolant, gas, and oil increase a vehicle's weight by 150 lbs or so.

Again, the weight concern is not about the acceleration, it's about the handling due to weight. Sure, some may say it's a 4-door and sub-3000 is actually pretty good. But this is a "driver's" vehicle and to do that they have a strong weight reduction priority (ie: carbon drive shaft, and light-weight seats). In all honesty, no matter how you slice it, the RX-8 really a two door vehicle with two 'access doors'. While it would more than meet my 'four-door' needs, I don't think Mazda can use that as an excuse for weight comparison to other mid sized sedans sporting rear four doors. 2700 lbs curb weight is not asking the impossible, Mazda should look at their own fleet for weight comparison. My Protege ES four door has a curb weight of 2700 lbs and it has heavier seats, steel hood/trunk, and a block engine at least 100 lbs heavier than the Renesis. While the protege may have a smaller wheelbase, it is much taller and likely has more glass than the RX-8 would.

With competitors like the Subaru and looming Evo coming out with better acceleration and potentially better handling numbers, the RX-8 needs to make sure it will at least out handle them (a though job with the Evo's CV and anticipated same price range).

I completely agree Fritzman, I am buying the RX8 for handling, and I expect the handling to above other cars in the same class/price range. Just like the RX7s and Miatas have the best handling in there class/price range. If the RX8 will weigh around the 2700lb mark the RX8 most likely will out handle anything in it class/price range. Now if it weighs 2950lb I can't say the same, the EVO might be able to take it in the corners, but hey either car is not out in the US. I'll be test driving all of them, Z, EVO, RX8 but right now I got a feeling the RX8 will be my #1 pick unless Mazda really messes it up. Also I just read in Car & Driver that Lotus will be bringing the Elise here in 2004 for $38k!! OMG 1700lb rocket!!!

Well, even a weel driven AWD DSM will out-accelerate the RX-8. So why are you even comparing the 0-60 times of an AWD car to the RX-8? My friends Talon TSi AWD pulled a 6.2 0-60, thats .3 seconds 'faster' than what the car was originally suposed to do. Why? Because magazines tend to give somewhat-accurate numbers. I bet the WRX will do a high 5 second 0-60 with the correct driver.

Now, the RX-8 is NOT an AWD car, so comparing it to the acceleration of the Lancer Evo, WRX or any other AWD is pointless. Even in the 1/4 mi the driver can mean as much as a second in the time.

hmm... since my r&t didnt arrive yet I will have to go to the store and purchase one ;-)... however, comparing RX-8 to WRX or Evo is useless, it is different kind of car... what you are getting is a package - looks good, feeels good, drives good & costs little... WRX or EVO might be able to beat it out in few categories but overall, RX-8 so far seems like a winner baby

p.s. this seems like a mostly North American forum but if you want nice handling, get a new Mini Cooper S... nothing handles that well... I am gonna be shopping for new car early next year and RX-8 fits nicely into that plan, any1 knows when will it be released in Europe?

yeah i was looking for a good slightly used rx-7 till i read the arctil and found that there is much differance in the two.
rx7 around $20,000 0-60 in 4.9sec and 1/4 mile in 13.5
rx8 around $26-30k 0-60 in 6.0sec and 1/4 mile in 14.5
plus its 8 years newer

How specific does one want to get for car comparisons? Are we only comparing RWD vehicles with rotary engines? It shouldn't matter what wheels are driven, or where the engine is placed, or, for the general public, what type of engine it is. The point is about Mazda delivering a 4 door vehicle with sporty dynamics for a sub 30K price. And yes, the Evo and WRX can be included because they to, fulfill that role quite well.

Price and vehical intention is the only good way to compare vehicals. With that in mind the 30K RX-8 will compete directly with the STi, EVO VII, IS300 etc. Anyone who thinks that the average RX-8 buyer won't cross shop the "rally" cars is kidding themselves.

IMO the RX-8 will stack up nicely against the STi and EVO. It will have less power, but weigh less and handle better. It will trade their AWD systems for an interior that screams sports car not economy car.

For those of you who havent seend the Road and track article yet, here is a link to it

http://www.rx-8.com/images/roadandtrack.pdf

ps, its in adobe acrobat format, so you might need to downlaod that if you dont have it.

actually, thats an year old article... ppl here were talking about new article in April 2002 edition of R&T

sorry about that, i actuallyed posted the article before i read it, now it makes sense!!