Hi all, I was looking on the s2ki forums and found this. It took me a while to get through all of it, but you can get the gist of it on the first page or so. I wonder if this will happen to our beloved RX-8 when redesign time comes around...

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74033

Thoughts?

Probably not going to have to worry about that since the car isn't even out yet. The RX7 will hopefully be out before it is time for a redesign. Although it almost feels like the car design is many years old (due to the amount of time between the prototype and release). Those who have been following the RX8 for a while may know what i am talking about.

Look at the Miata, an arguably even more of a "cult" car to enthusiasts than the S2000.

The redesign in 1998 was right on the money. They kept the car with enough "Miataness" to make it instantly recognizable as the Miata, yet they improved the very few things that needed improving, all without losing the soul of the car.

Some Miataphiles will disagree, but I don't think Mazda could have handled it any better than they did. There are still those who swear the 1st gen Miata is the only REAL Miata, and that the 2nd gen loses the magic of the first. I'm not one of those people....

Hopefully when the time comes, Mazda will do it right again. Based on how long Mazda goes before redesigning sports cars, I'd bet we'd be talking at least 2008-2009 before the RX-8 would see a major redesign. That's a pretty long time ;)

i have to agree with you on your opinion of the M2 miatas not losing the "miata soul", but only up to a point. after 2000, the miatas got heavier, losing their nimble feel. i have an 97 Miata, and my dad has a 1999 10th anniversary, and my uncle has a 2001, and the 2001 does feel heavier than the other two. but it does feel more solid than the 10th anniversary, and my 97.

But other than that, Mazda was extremely careful with what they did to the 2nd gen miatas, just like they have been careful with the 8.