Well, i dont know about the possibilities of the renesis, but with the changes they made to teh engine, once people start turboing it, it should hopefully put out phenomenal power. Mazda very well might offer a turbo later on, as well as rumors of an RX-7 return. They didn't put the turbo on their now though, primarily for cost. Their goal is a powerful, fun to drive sports car at a reasonable to low cost. If this one takes off i have no doubt that in a few years there will be turbo models from the factory.

Also, most people are putting down right about 190rwhp, not 170. At least from all the reports i've seen...

...if you like sitting in back with your feet under, yes under, the front seats....and yes thats not just if youre tall...its definitely designed that way...

...because its new. Period. Anything new wins awards.

And as far as the realiability, rotary engines are by nature very touchy pieces of machinery. Talk to an RX-7 owner sometime about the tuning nightmares that come with a rotary engine. In other words, they are a motor dependant on balance....and once that balance gets thrown off (which it inevitably will) even just a little, it is HELL trying to get it back, and the engine is almost never the same.

Dont get me wrong, I think the RX-8 looks cool, and I do like the idea of the rotary engine, but its implementation leaves something to be desired....

190hp? for $32k or more? cmon....

lol sorry i didnt mean to pick on you madsenj37 :D yours were just the comments i noticed first hehe

No worries, no harm done. Honestly though, the problems that plagued other owners of rotaries, minus the balancing issue, have supposedly been taken care of. As for four people, I own one, and it does fit four people, better than most two door sports cars. As soon as I got it my friends and I went on a road trip to Reno, which was a four drive for us. It was better than my old 2 door bmw by far. Now granted only one of us was over 6 feet.

So you do actually own one...congrats :D

How does it pull up top? They are supposed to have insane top end.....

Because they matter. Honda, Toyota, and BMW all ship 100 HP/litre engines these days. The epitome of V8 performance in the part of the world are cars like the Monaro coupe, which make around 330 HP out of a 5.7 V8. The BMW M3 makes that out of a 3.3 litre engine. The new gen Toyota Supras are again, in that ball park, with normally aspirated 3.5 litre sixes.

Smaller, lighter engines = lighter car. So the same HP gets you better performance, to boot.

Simple V8's don't weigh much anymore since they're all aluminum now in performance models. All the technical gadgets thrown on to other engines to make them get high power/displacement ratios make them heavier. The real world advantages are small if any:

"Old" tech:
5.7 L LS1 or LS6: 350 or 405 hp respectively. 400 lb long block

7.0 L ZL1 (1969): ~5-600 hp. 500 lb (very few were originally built, but all the parts to make a new one are easily found).

New Tech:
3.4 L 1998 911 Carrera engine: 300 hp. 400 lb

3.6 L 1995 911 Turbo engine: 410 hp. 600 lb (!)

I'm can't find M3 or Supra engine weights, but I doubt they're much different.

You also bring up the physical size of an engine, which I don't see as being much different for any of the engines you mentioned. RWD cars mount their engines longitudinally, so underhood length, not width is most important. Both the supra and BMW are inline 6's, so they require similar space to a V12. Not exactly compact.

I admire the engineering acomplishments on european and japanese engines, but I'd admire them much more if they applied the same technology to a larger displacement engine. Turbos are also good though :)

Thanks. the top is impressive. It goes through the rpm meter like it is nothing once your above 6-7. I havent kept over 7 for a long time since I still feel like I am breaking it in eventhough I have about 3x the recomended break in mileage.

I liked it in photos, liked it better in person, and liked it even more when I drove it. I didn't like the digital speedo, and the $2000 dvd nav, but I'm definitely picking one up. Nordic Green

StingC ... you didn't throw in the numbers / advantages of teh rotary in there. It is in a class all its own.

13b turbo with all the piping. Can hit 500hp without too many problems. About 250lbs or less. Thats longblock power at half teh weight. That is a significant difference. When you consider its used in cars built for handling, not straight lines, you get even more advantage. Unlike the v8's or i6's you are talking about, they are much shorter and lower. This puts the weight more toward the center of the car, and less around the edges, which leads to better handlign and center of gravity. That is why HP/L comparisons matter. though they all get thrown out teh window when teh rotary is considered. As for applying that same principle into larger displacement engines. Check out teh 20b. 2L of displacement, with another rotor. That gives you 3, rather than 2 rotors to make power, out of an engine about teh size of a v6. They also made an insano 4 rotor version for their LeMans car.

My friends mom works for a mazda/subaru dealership, and she got to borrow an RX-8. We could NOT get it to burn out, dropping the clutch, everything. It may have HP, but no torque. No guts in the car.

So are you saying that mazda had the only new engine on the market? Or are you perhaps saying that every new engine wins an award?

I believe that for instance the engine used in the 350 Z is new this year ... why did not it win?

because its not....drumroll please...............

The Return of the ROTARY!!!!!!!!!


oooo ahhhhhh ooooo

Thats why :D

now, i don´t know all that much about the ROTARY, but i´ve got to tell you all i´m loving this vehicle more and more each day.

not that i´ll be able to get behind the wheel of this sexy RX-8 anytime soon...

Cool car, nice preformenance charges :D