Having gazed at so many pictures of the production car, it is quite interesting to go back and look at the 2001 concept again. I remember being so impressed at the time that I called my dealer to ask about it. True to form, he had no idea what I was talking about ;)

Have to say that I still prefer the concept in many regards. Front and rear bumpers look cleaner and the overall profile is slightly lower. The interior of the concept was great too, but I suppose all those alloy bits were never going to make it into production. What a shame those great rear seats didn't survive though. And how excited could we have got about colour coded seat backs...?

Pictures at:
http://public.fotki.com/wackydave/car_related_reference/mazda_media_pics/

Sorry to dissapoint but I prefer the car as it is today.

The lines are great and it looks ready for action!

Cheers
Oilman

I also in the the camp of being happy with how the Production model turned out!

;)

In case anyone would like to follow a past thread that started when we got our first look at it way back when ...

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?threadid=1141

... although I still like the the looks of the RX-Evolve ...

I think they could have kept the side mirrors. Looks much nicer with rotary shape(?), and had integrated lights... :(

Originally posted by xeos
I think they could have kept the side mirrors. Looks much nicer with rotary shape(?), and had integrated lights... :( I like the fatter mirrors. I'm even getting used to the fender mounted turn indicators. The placement reminds me of a sport stripe.