whats the best way to tell whether it's a shinka edition or not? the car I'm looking at buying says shinka on the current owners loan agreement. but it's a gray color with black suede seats and door inserts. I was under the impression they only came with "parchment" leather. any help on this?

 

build date is 05/05

 

hmm, i'm sure someone will chime in, but i thought the same on the seat color and exterior color. then again, i don't think any non-shinkas came with suede.

i don't know much about them though. the wheel color is a bit different than stock, but i imagine it would be hard to tell unless there was a non-shinka nearby.

wiki it

 

I did look at wiki, but they only talked about the white leather. the wheels look pretty bright silver. not the darker color

 

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/production-serial-number-listing-06-shinkas-here-124394/

look for you VIN number

if you can no find, no shinka. btw, 2006 shinka's all have the cream (or parchment as you said) leather/suede combo with matching door inserts, chrome radio accents, chrome headlight accents, shinka on the door pillar, billstein (spelling?) shocks, etc.... they come in galaxy grey, copper red, brilliant black, and white. the 2005 shinka only came in black cherry.

hope this helps

 

from wiki...doesn't mention black suede, but in 2006 it did come in other exterior colors

In 2005, Mazda introduced the first special edition RX-8 called "Sports Prestige Limited" in Japan and "Shinka" in North America. Billed as a more luxurious grand touring model, this Shinka came with Black Cherry exterior color and Parchment leather interior along with subtly chromed 18" wheels. Only 2150 were made in the 2005 model year. The most significant mechanical change were slightly revised Bilstein shocks and suspension cross member injected with urethane foam to improve ride quality.

Shinka returned for 2006 as a production trim package, now available in Copper Red, Galaxy Grey, and Whitewater Pearl. Only 1500 were made in 2006.Launched in 2006 the ‘Evolve’ was the first special edition for the UK. The new model was named after the original Mazda concept car seen in Detroit in 2000 and limited to a production run of just 500.

 

05/05 build date should make it '06 model year, right? '06 shinkas did come in galaxy gray, altho i think the seats should be sand alcantara (light tan color). the wheel finish is slightly different, and it has sirius sat radio. if in doubt, just get the vin and call mazda

 

i knew shinka~mami would chime in!!

the seat color is killing it. post a link to the ad/dealer. or is it privale sale?

 

lol @ 2tone, of course i would :P
if OP opens up link i posted, they can open the pdf and look for VIN. the interior color that they are talking bout makes it no a shinka. perhaps is mistake that dealership/private seller/whatev are listing it as such. i have heard where dealerships try to sell something as shinka to make it more appealing.
again, shinka's came with all kind of chrome accents, from interior radio and console to exterior lights and the shocks, etc.
the major obvious is int/ext color.

 

dozer

 

 

^lulz

 

the 10th in the vin is a 5... so it is an '05. It's a private seller, here's a link http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/1779419837.html
regardless, I really like the car, and I'd honestly rather not have leather. I'm going to run by mazda tomorrow and check it out just so I can remove that selling point from him.

 

'05 Shinkas have the Black Cheery paint and white leather interior. The car in the ad is a Touring moderl.

 

uhh, dude, don't buy it.

seriously, that is NOT a shinka, not even close.

don't go near someone that would misrepresent a car like that. shinka's are a special edition and therefore (maybe) worth more, that is not a shinka.

so, either the person is lying, and you shouldn't buy from them, or you're buying from an owner that just doesn't realize it's not a shinka...in that case, you don't want to own a niche car like the 8 that requires special attn from someone that thinks they have a shinka and they don't.

this is the part where you RUN. good luck finding a better deal.

 

yeah, that is definitely not a shinka. it might still be a nice car, but it's grossly misrepresented (tho likely the owner just doesn't know anything). and that's the cloth interior, not suede. like mentioned above, it's a touring model

 

Don't not buy it because it's not a shinka. It has low miles. Bring up the fact that its actually a touring (suede seats/sunroof) and try to get him down to 12.5. If you can get that, then get it checked at a dealership. If everything goes well then you got a hell of a deal there.

 

I'm almost positive he has no idea what a shinka even is. after talking to him while test driving the 8 and trying to explain what I knew about the shinka edition, he was still clueless. so I don't think he's purposely misrepresenting the car, someone down the line told him and he's sticking with it. plus for some reason the documents from his loan co. also have it listed as a shinka. but I'm going to get some hard evidence tomorrow so I can make a serious offer. I can't thank you guys enough for all of your help. any clue what a once-over at a dealership will cost me?

 

the shinka editions say "shinka" on the doors, they also have the red/white stitched bucket seats, and stitched e-brake. just google it and youll find some other stuff

 

i was going to buy an 07 black shinka

the way i could tell it was a shinka is it had cream colored seats they were suede and not leather, which i loved!! and it had shinka on the pillar on the door frame (see attached photo for example)

here is some info i found on the shinka:

Shinka

In 2005, Mazda introduced the first special edition RX-8 called "Sports Prestige Limited" in Japan and "Shinka" in North America. Billed as a more luxurious grand touring model, this Shinka came with Black Cherry exterior color and Parchment leather interior along with subtly chromed 18" wheels. Only 2150 were made in the 2005 model year. The most significant mechanical change were slightly revised Bilstein shocks and suspension cross member injected with urethane foam to improve ride quality.

Shinka returned for 2006 as a production trim package, now available in Copper Red, Galaxy Grey, and Whitewater Pearl. Only 1500 were made in 2006.Launched in 2006 the ‘Evolve’ was the first special edition for the UK. The new model was named after the original Mazda concept car seen in Detroit in 2000 and limited to a production run of just 500.

hope this helps :D shinkas i do believe did NOT come in grey

 

there isn't an 07 shinka is there? ^if so im confused lol

 

yep it was an 07(the dealership could have been wrong, they never know anything) black had 10k miles on it for 17k is what i was going to buy it for but sticker price was 21k

just didnt want to pay over 300/mo at that time

 

ok im 90% sure there weren't 07 shinkas... maybe someone who sees this will know for sure but im thinking the dealer was full of it there.

 

you know what they probably did......
the make date was probably far enough to call it an 07 like 8/06 or something along those lines

i have done this before when fixing cars lol, im sure your right

 

did i not say all this?? also you have listed in your info that shinka's came in Galaxy Grey then in last sentence said they did NOT.... you are no helping the OP with this confusion.. shinka was only available in 2005 black cherry and 2006 Copper red, galaxy grey, brilliant black (which you forgot to list) and whitewater pearl. they DID NOT make shinka's in 2007. if your dealership told you that, they are misinforming you.
the touring did NOT come in suede, that is cloth.
siiiigh.

again, if OP (or anyone who wants to for that matter) clicky on thread link i provided waaaay early in thread, they can look up VIN number, yes it takes a few moments of time, but if your VIN is on that list, you haz shinka.