Yeah, too bad the american Mazda website reads more like a dealership.

 

Those wheels are ugly as ****.

 

That's a really nice write-up

 

ditto that

 

Japan video and website.

http://www.carview.co.jp/magazine/re...azda_rx8_40th/

 

Oh well, my 06 shinka has all of the options including the Bilstein shocks and H-Tein springs, the handling is awesome, not too surprise they went with the Bilsteins. A turbo with 6-7 psi would have been nice for a 42-49% more power.

 

not impressive sigh..

 

Im trading my 8 in for it! Can't wait!!!

 

Does anyone make a rotor shaped wheel design? If not then someone should as we have that all over the car now anyway.

 

Is it me or do I see Bilsteins in the japanese brochure? If so that'd be the best feature of the whole edition.

Mazda used to have cool special/limited edition cars like my 93LE miata. Full red leather miata (no other miata ever produced had that), suspension from the R package miata (bilsteins, stiffer springs, larger swaybars), headrest speakers/bass shakers, chrome door panels, special 9 lbs BBS wheels etc.

 

Is it me or do I see Bilsteins in the japanese brochure? If so that'd be the best feature of the whole edition.

Mazda used to have cool special/limited edition cars like my 93LE miata. Full red leather miata (no other miata ever produced had that), suspension from the R package miata (bilsteins, stiffer springs, larger swaybars), headrest speakers/bass shakers, chrome door panels, special 9 lbs BBS wheels etc, LSD, ABS etc.

 

I'm thinkin' the same thing myself. Tempting.

 

Autoblog gives its take on the 40th anniv. edition here:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/17/f...ecial-edition/

One not-so-nice soundbyte from the article:
Mazda's official hyperbole about the RX-8 brags that the car changed customer expectations of what an affordable sports car should be when they launched the four-place coupe in 2003. It sure did; we've now come to expect less than the stated power output from the Renesis Wankel, which also swills oil like a... well, like a Wankel.

But there are some compliments after that.

 

So no more power, but if the car handles even better with the suspension upgrades, you'd almost never have to slow down!!

To me that makes a sports car more than pure HP. If I found a deal on a 40th anniv. down the line I'd consider training, unless the next gen is something special. The pics I've seen of the supposed prototype are ugly IMO though.

 

What bothers me is when they say "…swills oil like a… well, like a Wankel." That's very misleading—particularly to newcomers contemplating a purchase. For decades, everyone knows that "bad" engines (i.e. old engines, poorly designed engines, poorly maintained engines, etc.) burn oil.

Autoblog's choice of words makes it sound like the Renesis belongs in the "bad engine" category when, in fact, it doesn't, since it consumes oil by design, which is a very different thing. (And while we're on the subject of being misleading, the Renesis doesn't "swill" oil—it sips it.)

 

Errr.... the 2006 NC Miata SE had red interior. Very hot too. Or was it a Canadian only thing?

 

I like that white one better than the grey one. They should also have a whitewater pearl with some sort of black/white color combo on the interior leather.

 

Are those foam members even that good? Do they provide any benefit other than sound dampening?

 

Yeah wheels are ugly, they look like glorified automatics rims.

The supposedly stiffen the chassis also.

 

Badging, a couple of DIY mods, and a couple extra thousand dollars. I would prefer the Shinka edition. I have a Titanium Grey, and I would agree, they've done enough shades of Grey. Come out with another yellow, or orange, red, bring back winning blue, just something different but classy.

 

Anniversary RX-8 Models are now available here in Australia..
Caught a quick look today as I drove past a Mazda showroom, it was in Metropolitan Grey.
The car was reversed in so all I could catch was it's rear end.

 

yeah, a special edition with nothing special on it!!!

 

ill just buy the 40th anniversary badge my car would look like the white one but better!!!

 

Thanks for the info!! Keep us posted, particularly with the interior. Is it available only in Cosmo Red, or are there other combinations?

 

Oh and don't forget about the wheels, Ash. Do they look like the US version or the Japan version?