New owner - Shinka Edition!
 

Hi Everyone -

After tons of research and test driving I decided on an Rx-8 a few weeks ago. On Tuesday night I made a deal for an 05 black Rx-8. The dealer was very reasonable as we worked through the pricing of the car and the trade in for my Z3. Pick up was arranged for yesterday morning.

When I arrived there were 2 very shiny Rx-8's in front of the dealership - a black one looking gorgeous and one that was a "different" black - it had the upgraded wheels and a light colored interior. I walked up and realized it was a Shinka! I had seen pictures on the internet but did not think one would be available as there are so few made. The pictures on the internet looked very "purple" - in person the color is much darker and richer. The sales guy walks up and says - how do you like your new car? It had arrived that morning and he had it prep'd for me - knowing how much research I had done and how passionate I was about the Rx-8 he set it aside for me knowing that I would be very likely to take it. All I had to do was pay the difference in MSRP from the black one I made the deal on - $800.

I took it for a 10 minute drive and signed the check - no hesitation. The interior is very classy, has lots of upgrades that look great, the stereo is satellite ready, upgraded suspension, upgraded wheels and the uniqueness of the car made the decision easy.

The color changes under different light - ranges from dark brown to black to redish/purple to purple/black - pictures do not do it justice.

Took it out for a long drive on mountain backroads last night - had a blast!

I really appreciate what the dealer did - there are only 20 coming to Canada, his dealership only gets 2.

I'll take some pictures this weekend - meanwhile here are a couple from the LA autoshow from UrbanRacer and one from Rotary news that are close but still do not capture the color changing. Interestingly the color of these pictures depends on your computer monitor as well - they look different on my work monitor than my home computer.

Thanks to Japan8 for the post a few days ago, the link to the Mazda Japan site for the car is now up:

http://www.rx-8.mazda.co.jp/limited/sport_prestige/

Thanks to all who post on this site - I got a lot of great information from this forum.

Mods in the next couple of months:
Ipod Link
Window Tinting

WOW, you lucky dog...

But as always....PIC's PLEASE! or else people will call you out and say (BS)....

Nice. Welcome! We are all looking forward to your pics!

Sorry, I forgot to say that...Welcome and enjoy your new baby. That would make you the first owner of the Shinka on this website...congrats!

Where'd you pick this up at TopGear?

congrats man, and welcome to the club.

pics of your car please?

nice man...now lets jump him in !

So, you can say you have an "RX8:EVO" hehehe :D

I love the color on this car.

congrats . enjoY !

ZoomZoom! :D

beautiful. welcome abord :)

that is funny

you are catching on quick :D

Picked up the car at Signature Mazda in Richmond (suburb of Vancouver, BC)
 

Chris and Peter at Signature Mazda in Richmond were great to deal with, I was really happy that Chris picked out the Shinka for me .

Just got back from an "extended" lunch :)

Nice car, man. Just wondering if there are any other differences apart from the mean paint job?

Congratulations :) .

suspension tweaks as well.

nice choiice TopGear welcome to the forum- all shinka owners should be RX8club.com members:D

not sure I like the tan interior- generally I like that look but not on this sports car... has a luxurious look- kind of out of place on the 8

oh wow thats awesome looking car!

OMG!!

Vancouver owners... we need a meet NOW!!!!

Also in Vancouver, meet required to see.. errr.. meet the Shinka... Let's plan it in the Canada forum.

Signature Mazda
 

Oh, In addition. Almost bought my car from Signature Mazda, but continued to look around. I found that their service/sales people were the best, and most knowledgable. On the other hand, the best price they could offer me was the highest quote I got.

I picked up the car for about $4000 cheaper at Morrey Mazda. Just FYI. Congrats on the Shinka though...

(Remember that I was really price conscious. I was moving up from a Honda Civic, if I was trading in a Z3, I may have been a little more liberal) :) :)

Shinka differences
 

Found the attached pdf which does a good job going through the equipment

Main differences:
Color - special paint
Suspension - 14mm shocks instead of 12.5, foam filled cross members
Headlights and taillights - chrome bezels
Low lip rear spoiler included
Front air dam included
Wheels - polished alloy wheels included
Tires - this doc says "performance tires" - not sure what tires were on the GT
Leather covered console lids, park brake handle, door trim
One year Sirius subscription (looking forward to that!)
Homelink included

The only changes that will affect driving are the suspension and possibly the tires, the rest are cosmetic. I do think the suspension is different - hard to describe as it seems stiffer yet rides over bumps well. I'll be doing more "testing" tonight.

Overall the changes are a great value and I really like the color - color is personal choice each of us has, I'm sure it won't appeal to everyone. I'm extremely happy with the car - it is fun to have something unique. I know I would have been very happy with a black GT as well. I already have people stopping to talk about the car when I park at work - lots of positive comments on the color with people noticing that the color changes depending with the angle you look at the car.

Thanks for all of the nice welcome messages - I'll post pictures on the weekend.

Dude, that looks like a great car congrats on getting it. I saw it at the la auto show and it looked pretty cool.