I was at the NAIAS the opening day for the public and the black RX-8 had paddle shifters. Is this going to be standard with the auto trans? I can't get into mazdarx-8.com for some reason (heavy volume)? Shifting on the wheel would be sweet, but I can't justify the decrease in power for that!

 

yes paddle shifters are standard with the auto.

 

Note that it is a standard automatic with "shift buttons" rather than the F1 type transmission found on Ferraris, M3 and the MR2.

http://www.edmunds.com/news/innovati...3/article.html

 

The SMT would have been a nice choice in place of the automatic:

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadt...5/article.html

 

or how about a "6-speed" CVT?
audi

 

And make the car FWD? no thanks

 

:o no no i didn't mean that. i was just throwing out another example of new trannies. god forbid

 

Patience...

---jps

 

An uber high horsepower 4 rotor enigne would be nice too, but everything cost $. Hopefully we will get an SMG, but it takes time for new technology to come down in price.

 

Sputnik - your comment on this may lead some to believe an SMG may be available at some point in the future, say from a MazdaSpeed model?

If thats the case - WOW!!!

 

Isn't there talk of the MPS RX-8 having some type of variant of SMG technology?

 

Wasn't the only talk of a MPS version only in our minds at this time?

 

Yep, that's the buzz from reliable sources. We'll just have to see if Mazda can get it to their liking (in other words, reliable enough that they'd sell it) by the time the MPS is ready to go.

---jps