But not enough to own a sports car with a M/T.

Eclipse is not a sports car?

Agreed. Even a run-of-the-mill F30 328/330 4.0cyl with the ZF results in super snappy shifts (both up and down), while maintaining seamless comfort between shifts. Hell, the SkyActiv (post 2013 reprogramming) 6 speed auto is nearly as good as a well programmed ZF 8 speed auto minus two gears.

There is no questioning that a well sorted manual transmission car is more visceral to drive, but most consumers and enthusiasts couldn't care less if daily city traffic and lap time is thrown into the equation.

90% Interstate and no track.
Clutch please.

Nope. Wrong wheel drive.

But what if it comes to a high-revving car? Family cars don't typically rev past 7500, which is the redline on the AT RX-8.

I am just curious to see if there is a modern AT that can handle high revs.

MX-5 is already doing really well, so I don't see any point for Mazda to come up with another sports car unless it's something really special.

I personally agree with ASH8's article. Yes, we can wait until Mazda gets more money to work on the new rotary, which is completely understandable; let them figure out the Skyactiv-X first. But it would be a very bold move to completely abandon the rotary.

It comes down to personal preference, really.

No one here is arguing the objective superiority of modern AT/DCT, but still, 30+% of Hellcat Challenger buyers opt for the 6MT, which is actually a grand more than the 8AT.

As for good AT, I will give the 2013 BMW X3 some credit for having a decent 8AT. It's just completely ruined by the 2.0 Turdbo. For utility vehicles, I prefer an AT, since it's more just about getting from point A to B rather than driving joy.

Bottom line, no one can say anything about something you enjoy, as long as it's legal and ethical.

In my mind sports car = MT . Mazda need to forget about trying to make a car to pander to the North American market , which is the main reason they put out an AT IMO. Make a good quality performance sports car for a small niche market and use it to promote the brand . That's all they need to do with the rotary . They don't need to make many of them to achieve that . The fewer they make the better in reality .

Can confirm. DCT in the M3 is 100% legit. If you're bashing it, you are just unaware of how good it is. This is not a slushbox in any capacity. The vast majority of the time, it shifts smoother and faster than any human could possibly do. At the same time, the on off throttle and shifts, feel exactly like a manual- because the transmission is a manual... two manuals wedged together.

This coming from a former 6 speed rx-8 owner. All of my cars have been manuals.

No one is 'bashing' autos, just stating a preference for MTs in sports cars.

Totally understandable.

If and when this rx comes out, I'd only order it with a manual. DCTs have their place, but in some cars it would be hard to imagine not rowing my own gears.

:rollingla

New Mazda RX sports car sports car still on track | Auto Express

Comments from VP of R&D at Mazda, Tanaka:

:rollingla

So, it's just a design concept. It's not going to be a production model. They're just playing with styling and shapes.

So, whatever processes they have for approving a model for production haven't been finished yet. Also, this is phrased like somebody clinging to hope rather than somebody talking about a done deal.

So, they are still working on technical challenges. The fact that he gave a number range is interesting as well. I wonder if it's because they are working on it like they worked on the Renesis... during free time on nights and weekends. And we know how well that turned out.

Check the timeline and the concepts before production model of RX-8, they are following the same path of deadlines (three editions of Tokyo Motor Show, 2 different concepts and the definitive model in 4 years).

Probably the car still don't have green light for production, but they are working on it.

TMS 1999 Rx-evolve

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/maz...ept-auto-shows


TMS 2001 Rx-8 concept

https://www.supercars.net/blog/2001-mazda-rx-8-concept/


TMS 2003 RX-8 production model

Yep CONFIRMED...sort of..

Mazda WILL display a 'new design concept' following on from the Vision at this years Tokyo Motorshow next month.

And Mazda is "making the utmost efforts to try and make this possibility"....

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/amp...otary-powered/

Confirmed sort of is better than no.

And...?

Mazda released technical data with those concepts meaning they were close to having things finalized. I've seen no such detail with the next RX model.

let's see what will happen next month.

That's just a rehash of the AutoExpress blog post already linked. Said blog post is a mix of interviews with the VP of Mazda R&D Europe Matsuhiro Tanaka at the 2017 Frankfurt show and head of Mazda R&D (presumably global) Kiyoshi Fujiwara at the 2016 LA show.

So, a little teaser regarding a design concept at the 2017 Tokyo show and then a flashback to a year ago. Dynamite reporting clickbait there.

We can say nothing for certain about the next production RX except that anywhere from 10 to 100 people (out of over 46,000 total employees) are working on it and there are still significant technical issues unresolved.

I will just wait until the Tokyo show for further comment.

Yet MORE rehashing of the same Autoexpress blog update. Zero new information.

2 more years of speculation.


Yay.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...99ef6a265a.gif

well, at least we'll have a new concept (probably closer to a road car) to dream on.