Really pleased we are called Mazdarotaryclub, the Club which is probably the only Club in the world to encompass all things that are Mazda Rotary totally as it was designed, especially pleased today with the announcements you will see below and the many exciting things now happening surrounding the Rotary at this very moment.
Mazda have just mailed us with the following information,
Media Information for immediate release
13th January 2008
UPGRADED MAZDA RX-8: EVOLUTION FOR THE ROTARY REVOLUTION
Mazda’s second world premiere at the NAIAS in Detroit today (Sunday) will mark the further evolution of the rotory-engined Mazda RX-8 four-door, four-seater sports coupe, giving it a refreshed exterior and interior design, enhanced performance and the option of a new sport package for the ultimate driving enthusiast.
The core of the hugely-popular RX-8 is unchanged â€" it remains a high-powered, lightweight and perfectly balanced machine powered by the world-renowned twin-rotor RENESIS rotary engine.
“Dating back to the Cosmo Sport released in 1967, every sports car ever developed by Mazda has had the same fundamental mission â€" to provide car lovers with a vehicle that’s fun-to-drive, exciting to look at and easy to own,†commented Tetsu Nakazawa, Mazda North American Operations’ RX-8 vehicle line manager.
“The new RX-8 embodies that mission and moves it forwards, conveying the unique and distinctive Mazda brand DNA to the fullest.â€
To enhance the highly successful RX-8, Mazda engineers focused on innovation in three key areas for the updated RX-8 â€" styling, performance and packaging. “The enhancements made to RX-8’s exterior, interior, packaging and performance take it to a whole new level of visual and driving excitement,†remarked Nakazawa.
Refreshed Design Cues provide ‘High-Quality Dynamism’
RX-8 was designed with an athletically sculpted exterior that provides a sense of originality that’s unrivalled in the marketplace today. The new RX-8 receives design enhancements that freshen the styling and give it a new look, without impairing the basic design theme.
Refinements for the new model include restyled front and rear bumpers and front fascia; sporty, high quality finish front headlamps and twin circular LED rear lamps; and larger diameter (90mm) exhaust pipes. Updates extend to a new five-spoke wheel design, increasing in diameter to 19" and featuring a symbolic and sporty design reminiscent of the rotary engine.
Taut muscular lines give RX-8 the liberating look of an athlete in motion. The muscular styling maintains classic sports car proportions while adding a Zoom-Zoom edge that is unmistakably Mazda.
The RX-8’s unique ‘freestyle’ four-door design is proof that a true sports car does not need to sacrifice space or practicality for performance. The advanced design of the rear-hinged rear doors provides a large door opening, allowing adult-sized passengers to easily enter and exit the vehicle. With a spacious cabin that provides ample passenger room for four full-size adults, and enough trunk space for a weekend’s worth of luggage, this sports car proves its versatility.
PERFORMANCE INNOVATIONS â€" EVEN MORE DRIVING PLEASURE
Through-and-through, the RX-8 is a pure sports car that gives the driver an exciting and dynamic experience. Engineers improved body rigidity of the new RX-8 through the addition of structural reinforcements, by adding a trapezoidal bracing bar between the front suspension towers and enhancing the local rigidity of the tower areas.
Also, the rear suspension geometry has been reconfigured for better handling performance and driveshaft rigidity is improved, lowering NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness) levels and improving performance.
In addition, the differential gear ratio is lowered (from 4.444:1 to 4.777:1) for improved off‑the‑line performance. These changes give RX-8 increased acceleration and performance, as well as even greater responsiveness to the accelerator pedal â€" always a rotary-engine and RX-8 hallmark.
The Mazda RX-8 remains the only mass-produced rotary-powered passenger car in the world. While exhibiting unusually high power output for a naturally aspirated engine, RENESIS outstrips comparable reciprocating engines in terms of acceleration, the feeling of power in reserve and ‘instant’ throttle response.
Depending on individual markets, the new Mazda RX-8 will be available as either a 231ps‑model fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, or a 205ps model fitted with a five‑speed manual transmission. The RENESIS engine is remarkably smooth and high revving â€" all the way to 9000rpm â€" and is significantly more compact than traditional internal combustion engines. In fact, the packaging and styling that define the RX-8 would not have been possible had Mazda engineers chosen a conventional piston engine.
ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE â€" THE MAZDA RX-8 R3
To cater to the driving-conscious enthusiast, the new RX-8 will offer a sport package. Providing the very best in rotary-powered motoring, this package adds a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers and front suspension crossmembers filled with urethane foam. Filling the crossmembers makes for a smoother ride, minimises NVH and ensures greater suspension control.
On the visual side of the sport package, a new rear spoiler, side sills, fog lights and sports front bumper are added to give an aggressive appearance, along with 19-inch forged aluminum‑alloy wheels with high performance tyres. Inside, this model adds front Recaro sport seats with leather side bolsters and colour coordinated stitching to leather-wrapped parking brake handle, steering wheel and gear knob.
Premium Cabin with even More Comfort
Minor enhancements were made for the new RX-8 to provide a simple and functional interior design that supports driving pleasure. The instrument panel was redesigned to give a feeling of dynamic movement, with a variable red-zone added to the tachometer that will rise as the engine comes to operating temperature and a new steering wheel, plus redesigned front and rear seats.
An extremely low cabin floor allows the seats to be mounted low in the chassis, which, along with a low instrument cluster cowling and bonnet, allows a low centre of gravity and provides outstanding visibility. Mazda designers concentrated on the shape of the front seat backs and the rear seat cushions to ensure enhanced rear-seat knee room. The front seat mounting-rails are also repositioned to allow maximum foot room for rear-seat passengers.
The rotary design element is incorporated throughout the interior of the RX-8 in creative ways, while the stylish cabin also evokes a sense of luxury and high-end quality. Mazda’s design team examined every aspect and component of the interior and created an elegant, driver‑centric atmosphere. Through the use of advanced ergonomic research, Mazda engineers determined that improper seating posture is a major cause of driver fatigue and built in optimum support in the front seats to help offset discomfort.
In addition, the colour of the RX-8’s instrument cluster was developed to reduce eye strain. The premium feel of the new RX-8 extends to the inclusion of latest technology features such as a 300-watt Bose® audio system with Centerpoint® surround sound and AudioPilot® noise compensation technology, Bluetooth hands-free phone system and auto sensing xenon headlights and windscreen wipers.
The Revolutionary Award-winner
Launched in 2003, the Mazda RX-8 hit the global market with a serious bang. The RX-8 has won more than 50 global awards since its release including 2003 RJC Car of the Year in Japan, Australia\'s Wheels magazine\'s Car of the Year for 2003, 2003 International Engine of the Year, 2004 Singapore Car of the Year, the 2004 U.S. Best Sports Car and UK Car of the Year 2004. It was also named on Car and Driver magazine\'s Ten Best list for 2004, 2005, and 2006. All together, Mazda has sold nearly 167,000 RX-8s around the world.
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MAZDA FURAI CONCEPT = THE EMBODIMENT OF ZOOM-ZOOM
The Mazda Furai concept car which makes its world premiere at the NAIAS in Detroit, Michigan, today (Sunday), celebrates 40 years of Mazda’s rotary engine and international motorsports heritage. The raciest interpretation of NAGARE design language to-date, Furai is the latest car in Mazda’s award-winning and highly acclaimed series of concept cars. Nagare (pronounced ‘na-ga-reh’), is the Japanese for ‘flow’ and the ‘embodiment of motion’.
Furai (pronounced ‘foo-rye’ â€" Japanese for ‘sound of the wind’) is the sort of car that could only come from a company that incorporates the ‘Soul of a Sports Car’ into everything it builds, but with an eye toward the future and the environment through the use of renewable fuels. Consequently, Furai is initially tuned to operate on 100 per cent ethanol, while research with partner BP into other future fuels, including ethanol/gasoline blends like E10, continues.
On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas and Mazda-powered cars road-raced in North America than any other brand of car. This is because every Mazda sedan, coupe and sports car really is developed with the highest possible dose of the company’s trademark Zoom-Zoom responsive performance and handling â€" truly the ‘Emotion of Motion’.
However, Zoom-Zoom is about more than simply vehicle performance. The look and style that is Zoom-Zoom can best be seen in previous NAGARE-based design studies, including the Mazda Nagare concept that debuted at Los Angeles in 2006; Mazda Ryuga (first shown a year ago in Detroit), Mazda Hakaze (which appeared in Geneva last year) and Mazda Taiki â€" the star of the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.
The ‘Nagare’ ethos is how Mazda’s future production models will sustain the Zoom-Zoom spirit by exhibiting their strong affinity for motion.
Manufacturers commonly showcase concept cars and design studies with little or no intention of actually using the theme presented. Mazda’s approach is the opposite: all of the Nagare concepts, including Furai, help evolve this evocative surface language for future use. Nagare is how this celebration of motion will be portrayed on interior and exterior surfaces in future models. Instead of form following function, the two merge as one.
Franz von Holzhausen, Mazda North American Operations’ (MNAO) Director of Design and the person who led the team that created the Furai, explains the thinking behind the concept, “We were looking for a way to bridge the gap between Mazda Motorsports and the production vehicles in our lineup. The mindsets of road-car and racing car fans are quite different, so the purpose of Furai is to find a meeting point for these disparate interests.
“Furai achieves this by purposely blurring boundaries that have traditionally distinguished the street from the track. Historically, there has been a gap between single-purpose racecars and street-legal performance models â€" commonly called supercars â€" that emulate the real racers on the road. Track cars are, by their competitive nature, ill-suited for practical highway use, as well as generally far from road-legal. While some supercars visit the track on occasion, they are primarily road cars not properly equipped for racing. The aim of Furai is to bridge this gap,†continued von Holzhausen.
However, Mazda neither intends to race Furai, nor is it a supercar the company plans to build and sell in the near future. Rather, Furai is a design study that lives between those extremes. Without the restrictions imposed by serial production models, and with the freedom of an autoshow environment, Mazda is using the opportunity to evolve the company’s Nagare design theme one more step closer to reality.
Instead of mimicking racecar components and design elements in a road car â€" the strategy preferred by supercar manufacturers â€" the ‘Mazda way’ was to begin this project with the real McCoy: a Courage C65 chassis that earned its stripes during two seasons of LMP-2 endurance racing in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). This sports car was successfully campaigned under the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development banner by B-K Motorsports during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Drivers Jamie Bach, Guy Cosmo, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, and Raphael Matos piloted the car to one victory and a total of nine podium finishes in 15 ALMS events. B-K finished third in championship standings both years; while Bach and Cosmo were co-Rookies of the Year in 2005 after their first season of ALMS racing.
“Anticipating future rules changes in the ALMS, we created a new closed ****pit which would be more appropriate for a future production model,†said von Holzhausen. “The major element we did not change is the 450-horsepower RENESIS-based R20B three-rotor rotary engine that provides the Furai’s ample Zoom-Zoom. The ultimate Mazda in our minds is rotary powered; as a company, we have no intention of abandoning that valuable asset. When people think of the very best production sports cars in the world, the rotary powered Mazda RX-7 is always on that list.â€
The Furai concept serves as a turning point in the Nagare developmental process. While the four previous concept cars explored different ways to express Mazda’s emerging design philosophy and to explore an aesthetic, this one is all about function â€" every last texture and detail serves some functional purpose. In essence, the Furai creative process boiled down to guiding air over and through the body in fruitful ways. To prove that this concept goes far beyond static aerodynamic analysis, Mazda’s design, motorsports and R&D teams worked together to construct Furai as a 180 mph rolling laboratory to demonstrate its functional capabilities on demand.
“The basic proportions of contemporary race cars are every designer’s dream,†enthused von Holzhausen. “Furai is less than 40 inches high (1000mm) but nearly 80 inches (2000mm) wide.â€
While Furai strikes an incredibly strong presence, the real beauty of the project â€" and it’s most valuable asset as a real-world test-bed â€" is in the details that von Holzhausen and his team incorporated:
The body surface provides ample opportunity to feature core design elements such as aggressive headlamps and Mazda’s unique five-point grille.
The headlamp trim pieces function as guide frames to help cancel aerodynamic lift.
High-pressure zones just above the front wheels are relieved to serve the same end.
The air flow package takes air moving under the front of the car and guides it inside the body to the engine-cooling radiators.
Nagare textures incorporated in the side surfaces feed air to the rear brakes, the oil cooler and the transmission cooler.
An under-car diffuser that begins rising aft of the ****pit helps draw the volume of air flowing through the radiators and engine bay, out the rear.
The Mazda design and R&D teams worked closely with Swift Engineering to refine the aerodynamic characteristics, assuring that Furai remains glued to the ground at high speeds. Through its existing relationship with Swift Engineering, forged through development of the Mazda/Cosworth-powered Champ Car Atlantic single-seater chassis, the team used complex Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software to tune various Nagare design elements to function at a high degree of efficiency. Drag, downforce, lift and overall aesthetics were all key considerations.
Sourced straight from the race track, the Courage carbon-composite tub is essentially intact under the new Furai body, including the right-side driver’s seat. Instead of the stark interior typical of race cars though, this ****pit is finished with more comfortable but still highly functional surfaces. An electronic display screen and gear-change shift paddles are built into the steering wheel.
In the chassis’ original racing configuration, the passenger seat is filled with electronic gear, so those components were relocated elsewhere to provide adequate space for two occupants. The greenhouse is somewhat wider than the original ****pit to provide adequate head and shoulder room and adequate visibility. Doors attached with butterfly hinges provide a very efficient means of entering the ****pit. In this instance, the design team followed an approach that has proven very effective during years of endurance racing.
“One thing we learned from CFD studies is that we don’t need much rear wing to balance the down force created by the front splitter and the Nagare features we’ve sculpted into the body,†observed von Holzhausen. “Combustion air is provided by a variation of the Turbo Tongue device that Swift developed for Indy car use a decade ago. It rises slightly higher than the surrounding roof surface to ingest clean air above the boundary layer. Our final design works so well that we applied for a joint patent with Swift. Of course, it helps that it’s a real piece of art, too, and one we had to incorporate into the design.â€
The Irvine, California-based Aria Group was responsible for creating new composite panels and they worked hand-in-hand with Mazda North American Operations’ own in-house fabrication team to mate them to the Courage chassis. The dark matte finish with red and orange accents harkens back to the livery worn by Mazda’s legendary 787B when it won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991, making the company the first â€" and still only â€" Japanese company to ever win the endurance classic.
Furai not only probes future design possibilities, it also ventures ahead with an alternative fuel. Consistent with the Mazda’s recently announced ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom’ initiatives, the Furai’s three-rotor powerplant has been tuned to run powerfully on 100-percent ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and ethanol/gasoline blends. There are exciting advances being made in renewable fuels, from current blends like E10 (10% ethanol/90% gasoline) with research ongoing into making ethanol from cellulostic materials, to future renewable gasoline components like Butanol â€" a ‘higher order’ alcohol which is fungible with gasoline.
John Doonan, Mazda’s manager of motorsports team development in the USA, explains the thinking behind Furai’s use of alternative fuel, “One of our key technical partners in motorsports, BP, helped facilitate our use of E100. In 2007, ALMS required use of E10 and E100 is now the only acceptable fuel in the Indy Racing League, so we’re projecting ahead with this application to gain experience and to improve Mazda’s environmental profile.
We are proud to partner BP which is a string leader in renewable fuels and recently announced a US$500 million investment in the Energy Biosciences Institute. BP also has a very green focus in the marketplace, and it’s Mazda’s intention to sustain its Zoom-Zoom performance image on and off the racetrack. While Mazda’s rotary has proven readily adaptable to various alternative fuels, including considerable work with hydrogen fuel, this is the first time it’s been engineered for other ethanol blends. The Mazda rotary engine is unique in its ability to run well on multiple fuels.â€
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What a huge dissapointment.
All I can say is that Mazda have made a really big stuff up in not changing the engine.
The basic design of the 13b has been around since 1975,come on Mazda get that 16X into the car and sort it out.
All I can see the diff ratio being changed accomplishing is higher fuel consumption!
Carl
I agree with Carl, - if they could only improve the consumption, THAT would be exciting Rotary news!
Well it\'s good news to me and this club because it means the Rotary is still around and if you cast your mind back just a few short years the writing appeared to be on the wall in that we were never going to have any more Mazda Rotarys,
Since then we have had the RX-8 now an upgrade rather than a discontinuing the model and potentially lots more Rotary cars in the pipeline,
Mazda are now treading the proven path they did with previous RX-7 and MX-5 models by upgrading a model that is already selling just enough to lure new owners into an upgraded "new" model whilst making the car just look different enough top entice new fresh buyers.
If you look back even a long way at say Gen 1 RX-7 we had three different models within the same body shape and more recently the previous MX-5 which seemed at one stage top have a new limited addition out almost every week,
I even commented to a Mazda guy once that surely they surely couldn\'t keep doing this, the response was "all the time we can sell them quicker than we can supply why should we stop", couldn\'t argue with that!
Sorry when looking at the bigger picture I can\'t share your despondency\'s at Mazda when I am just pleased they are still developing and selling Rotary powered cars, just picture if the announcement above was "Mazda drops the RX-8 and Rotary development" !!
BTW I like the new front as I always thought the old nose was not aggressive enough and the Mazdaspeed nose was too aggressive also the fogs are now in harmony with the main lamps rather than the mishapped round fogs on the original RX-8
The thing is though Clive that the 1st gen came out with a 12a N/A engine,then after only 4 years it was torbo charged,and at the same time the American market got the 13b.
I agree it is good that the RX8 is still going,but let\'s face it,the RX8 is the best selling rotary car ever,so they ought to be able to spend a whole lot more money of really decent improvements.
Regards
Carl
Ok, its good news for the club, and I agree it is a huge relief that they are continuing with development on our beloved engine !
Carl, I bet its Ford putting the brakes on the development budget! :-)
Mazda have something "different" happening on their stand at Detroit,
Courtisy of Rotarynews.com
http://rotarynews.com/node/view/976
Shame they didn\'t rev the nuts off of it :yes
that RX8 add is a load of old tosh, why use 2 words when 3 pages will do. Face lift! thats all they have done! and as for an ever higher diff ratio, whats the point, its juicy and high reving enough as it is!
i think the 8 is the biggest waste of a visually stunning car ever
it looks fantastic but 200 odd horsepower these days is preety limp wristed
I had to laugh at the RX-8 bit. All that writing and fancy words just to say, "yeah mate, we\'ve put some new lights and bumpers on, oh yeah and put a nasty steering wheel on right out the mx5. This rx8 does look better than the old one, but why dont they just put the optional spots package in allready, afterall, it is a sports car isnt it?
The lack of engine development (that we know of atleast) is very dissapointing. The car looks great and the handling is fantastic but the engine is neither torquey nor frugal. Id rather buy an old one then get Tim to stick on a turbo conversion than pay top money for a new one.
Am I the only one who thinks they have ruined the look of the back of the 8? Not that it ever had a pretty arse (or side, or front IMHO :rolleyes: )
P.S. And who do they think they are fooling by flipping the interior shot to show it RHD !!!!!! They didn\'t bother to reverse the caption!
Quote from: andysmeeAm I the only one who thinks they have ruined the look of the back of the 8? Not that it ever had a pretty arse (or side, or front IMHO :rolleyes: )
Your right, the back now looks like some boy racer has bought \'lexarse\' style lights for it and jacked it up. Otherwise I like the looks.
Would anyone in their right mind buy this over the new JDM Civic type R?
I cant be too down on the car though, I really like the RX8 especially once I had driven one, they are an excellent drivers car. Its just one step (a forced induction step) away from being a truly classic car.
i like the rx8 but when i drove one i got a big rush from the engines power to star with but then it went to a its a bit sluggesh to get the revs up when tooteling at 30-40 in 4th to 70-80 for motorway,
the turbo rx7 and ttxr7 you just get power and that **** will this power stop, all n/a rotarys lack the torque, ether they need to turbo it to put the 1.6 rotary in and give it the torquey feel too they have the power and the handeling it need the torque, and if they want to challange other car makers by saying it can do the 150k your vaxhall will do or ford or toyota they will have to keep it n/a to keep the engine costs down but surly they have to get the 1.6 engine in or is thats whats next for say a rx9????????
In the videos they have that Furai on the track. Sounds like an F1 car. So intoxicating!
surely they have developed the rotary alot, istead of going for power which can be used now, when were forced to used biofuels or hydrogen or the alternative the rotary will be the best about :D
Had a graphic design over a few days ago picking up some Royal Purple, he has worked on the Furai and says its awesome car.
I want the Furai gimmie :D
The Furai is horn on a stick! RX-8 looks like, well, an RX-8. Still got that big flabby arse and slightly silly smiley Pokemon face, I\'m afraid. Sure it\'s a competent car made slightly better, but does seem like a slightly wasted opportunity. All the Euro manufacturers are bhp crazy at the moment, but the Japs seem to be heading the opposite direction, or at best standing still, can\'t understand why. Put turbos in it and then I may be able to tolerate all the ludicrous Zoom-Zoom nonsense! Please, Mazda, stop with the Zoom-Zoom, it\'s embarrassing!