1.3 liter

I know that it's ENTIRELY TOO EARLY to speculate, but do you think that there will be a second generation rx8? or is the present rx8 being used as a jumpstart to other rotary powered vehicles. Just a thought as I sit in my office being bored out of my mind.

Puppy1

They'll revisit the rear Alteeza lights in the next update.

tangierc

can you post a pic of the Alteeza and the lights?

Lensman

Toyota 'Altezza'.

zoom44

Blasphemy from Puppy1!?!?:o and on purpose too!

WankelWannabe

I think they'll come out with a new auto transmission as well...possibly a SMT.

dcfc3s

First off, in 3 model years or so they should be doing the "freshening" - that's the first big change. On the 2nd gen RX-7, the original cars were built 86-88, and were "freshened" for the '89-91 years with new body cladding, upped horsepower, new wheels, etc.

We never got the 3rd gen's freshening in the US - in '96 in Japan they did the revision, and again in (I think) '99.

Using history as a yardstick, things we'll likely see -

- Revised front/rear fascia
- Minor interior changes and updates
- New wheel and spoiler designs
- Change in color selection
- Possible horsepower improvement (could be either minor or major)
- New trim packages/levels
- Various bugfixes and design improvements from customer and dealer feedback

Speaking of, I have a good feeling that white as a color WILL be available in the US. White wasn't available on the 3rd gen until '94-95 - you couldn't get a white '93.

There's actually a lot of color parallels between the current RX-8 color selection and the initial 3rd gen colors.

Time will tell!

Dale

tangierc

Good insight. Any speculation on what changes may be implemented in the 2005 model? Based on all of that I have been reading in the forums, I may wait until the 2005 model to get mine. Obviously I have no clue when that model will arrive. Also, I wonder Mazda is following this site and if they will make any of the mentioned changes. If there will be few changes between 04 and 05 models (particularly with mechanical things), I guess there's no real reason for me to wait.

I'd love some feedback in this for anyone who knows more than I do about Mazda rotary powered cars, vehicle timelines, and Mazda's attention to their customers.

dcfc3s

I doubt you'll see many changes for 2005. Probably changing the color selection a bit, MAYBE a bugfix or two, maybe altering some of the options packages.

I doubt you'll see any significant change until 2007 model year - that'll probably be when they do the minor change.

I think they took their time with the RX-8 moreso than they did the 3rd gen RX-7 - they spent a lot of time on the design of that car, but really rushed a lot of the concepts to market. I'm equating the RX-8 to the '86 RX-7 - '86s were very solid cars!

Dale

Puppy1

Anything for a laugh.

RX22

Changes!! Aargh!! Maybe I should wait!!! :D