antiver

So my girlfriend, an aspiring car enthusiast (since I fell in love with my 8, and she has to compete for my attention), tells me the other day that she pulled up to a stop light, and, low and behold, an RX-8 is sitting in front of her. She makes a point to tell me whenever she sees one, so she took special note of this one in particular. Because it was a convertible.

I know some of you will stop reading right there and flame me, so flame on. But she swears that she saw it, she sat right behind it, and read off the back "Mazda" "RX-8."

In her words:
"It was like your car, but it didn't have a top. And I know for sure it was a convertible, because the top was down and it said "RX-8." It was lighter than your car [a titanium] and darker than a silver. And it wasn't glossy, either. To me, it looked like a soft top. And yes, I'm positive." She also adds: "To establish my credibility, if anyone wants to be sassy, they're going to have to deal with me." (She can beat the crap out of me, so I'd watch your mouths, guys.)

This isn't to say that somebody out there didn't mod their own 8, but the fact that didn't have a glossy paintjob, but still had the logos is beyond me.

Factory prototype in San Antonio, TX, or modder?

Frostee

stolen/borrowed logos maybe?

i dont see how an 8 could be modded properly to be convertible... but im not a visionary :D

PPen131

very interesting. i can't believe that it'd be anything other than a custom job though

antiver

She says the rest of the body was definitely an RX-8 though.

Frostee

i guess i just dont see it with the lack of a B pillar and the way the rear doors are....there would be some major body work involved (more so than convertible-ing a regular car)

BlueEyes

I saw a picture of a convertible 8 in a parade. As far as I know it was not a photoshop.

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

The parade car was real - but it was a one off custom

AQA101

Maybe she saw a new Miata?

I have no idea if San Antonio is a place where chances are good to spot a new Mazda model though. For example where I live (near Munich), BMW models that will be released in a few months are a common sight. I see a lot of prototypes being tested around here and the first series models are usually handed to BMW employees for daily use as well.

antiver

Why would a new Miata model say "RX-8" and have the body of an 8?

I've read that factory prototypes aren't painted or labelled (logos) when they hit the road for testing, and if they are painted, they're flat black, or flat grey, or flat white. Can anyone confirm?

Also, Southwest Research is here, which does testing for a lot of major car manufacturers, but I doubt they'd take a car out on the road. They just have cars and engines lined up doing performance testing, etc.

GotBass

Buy her a camera phone.

mazdabob

Maybe an RX-7 with RX-8 updates.

XDEEDUBBX

prolly a modder....FLAME FLAME FLAME

shakRpahX8

sigh...people these days with their closed minds...


and tell me if that is a Rx7 with....rx8 upgrades???? WAT??
or new Miata?? btw that's in JApan

azzaboynt

I'm half blind, however if you look carefully you can still see the B-piller intact and in place?

maybe i've been staring at this monitor too long.... 17 hours straight at work without a break. :o

Glyphon

why do civics have badges that say "skyline" and have a body kit that makes it look like a skyline?

remember, never underestimate the power of stupidity.

that said, i agree that it was most likely a custom job.

dazygirl415

I think the Miata's are cute, but I'd rather mine say "RX-8" than "Miata." I'd say stolen badge.

jaguargod

If he has an RX-8, and his girlfriend is familiar with it, I really doubt that she would mistake a Miata for one. I mean, they don't exactly resemble one another all that much, especially from the back.

DickRitchie

My girlfriend said the same thing the other day. She swore it was an RX8. The first i told her was that she was a dumbass. The car she was talking about was sitting in front of a dealership. The car was an s2000. Girls are so stupid.

MrMethane

I swear I saw a yellow convertible at a gas station near my house as I was driving by. At first I thought I was seeing things, but this thing was distinctly an 8. I don't know why I didn't stop to look, I kind of just assumed it must have been something else because they don't make a convertible 8, but it had to be an 8 I saw, this car is too unique to confuse it with something else.

m477

I'm gonna hafta call BS on this one unless I see some pics.

Sure, it's possible that somebody out there made a custom convertible RX-8, but it's much more likely that your gf was simply mistaken about what she saw.

Gord96BRG

Second. Not a new old-style 2005 Miata, but a 3rd generation, 2006 NC MX-5, going on sale in late August. It's based on the RX-8 chassis, has similar taillights and fender flares, has a dual exhaust... like this one below...

How good is her eyesight? Can she distinguish between an RX-8 and MX-5 badge at 40 feet?

Other possibility - it was the new RX-7 convertible, undergoing testing. The primer gray paint would be one clue, as would the RX-8 badges used to disguise the actual car. Remember, the NC MX-5 (pictured below) was tested with development mule cars that had RX-8 bodywork on the front and the old NB bodywork on the back!

Regards,
Gordon

zoom44

no see that "b pillar" you are seeing was added to that 8 after the roof was chopped. its to help keep the body from flexing too much and i supose might help in rollovers.

antiver

She was sitting directly behind it at a stoplight. She had time to freak out and take a long look at it. She has better than 20/20 vision.

I, on the other hand, spot 8s all the time, and often she will look at me like an idiot and correct me: "That's not an RX-8." One time she even pointed out that what I thought was an 8, was a Mustang. My eyes suck. Moral: NEVER USE STEROIDS!

kmg1186

I want a convertible RX-8.

therm8

Just because safety reasons say it shouldn't be done, doesn't mean people won't do it. I'd say they had a custom conversion done. Probably wouldn't cost too much.