2008 Mazda RX-8 pricing and specs

By George Skentzos | July 02nd, 2008

Mazda Australia has released the official pricing and specifications for its face lifted 2008 rotary-powered RX-8.

This is the first update to the RX-8 since its inception in 2003, where Mazda has since sold more than 5,400 units in Australia to date.

Together with the obvious exterior design changes, the new RX-8 also boasts interior changes for improved useability and refinement as well as key modifications to the powertrain.

The 1.3-litre Renesis rotary engine has been modified to improve low to mid-range response while suspension upgrades have honed the RX-8′s handling and dynamics.

A six-speed manual transmission adopted from the MX-5 gets the best from the rotary powerplant, producing 170kW at a screaming 8,200rpm – resulting in a naught to 100km/h time of just 6.4 seconds.

The manual transmission is standard fit for the RX-8 range and features unique gearing ratios better suited to the Renesis engine as well as a shorter final drive.

A new 6-speed Activematic transmission with paddle shift reigns in a modest 158kW at 7,500rpm from the Renesis – however this is still up 17kW on the previous four-speed automatic.

Torque is identical through both transmissions, developing 211Nm at 5,500rpm – although this is actually slightly less than the 220Nm made when coupled with the previous four-speed auto.

These powertrains are spread across the three model RX-8 range comprising the RX-8, RX-8 Luxury and RX-8 GT.

The GT model adds handling upgrades, lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza 225/40 R19 tyres, sports body kit, front fog lamps and a host of sporting interior refinements including Recaro race bucket seats.

The Luxury model includes a sunroof, 8-way powered driver’s seat, 300W Bose 9-speaker stereo system and leather trim.

Standard safety equipment for the new RX-8 includes front and side airbags for driver and front passenger, and curtain airbags for all occupants. Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD).

2008 RX-8 Pricing:

Model	Price
RX-8	$49,720
RX-8 Luxury	$55,520
RX-8 GT	$57,625
6-sp Activematic (Luxury only)	$ 1,645

RX-8

RX-8 GT

RX-8 Luxury

Mitch Impey

They seem to have gone away from using triangles everywhere
Fenno

I thought the rotors placed around the car was a special touch.

Opinion: Best car under $100k

Wont be trading my ’04 on one until they bring out some decent colours though.
And for the knockers who base their opinion on what they’ve read somewhere.
Drive one and you’ll be hooked.
VW_Freak

Won’t make much difference here, in the time the RX-8 has been on the market we’ve only sold 2 of ‘em. Best car under 100K? Nah, it’s good, but there’s better!
http://navelcontemplation.blogspot.com Supercujo

I have always found the RX-8 to be a completely unsatisfying drive. Not enough torque.
Mitch Impey

bring out an MPS/Turbo version
CapnCrunch

Still not enough power to get me excited – that’s the main reason I sold mine and won’t be going back. Other than that, great car.
Richo

IF it had a turbo, it would be the most brilliant car for the price no doubt. This was proven by Mazda’s own australian skunk works (the blokes who did the 3 MPS extreem concept) when they did a turbo version of the RX8 and it was completely brilliant.

Unfortunately tho Mazda have chosen not to do this, i believe because it would be too hard to make a turbo rotary to pass emissions standards, those with a proper understanding of how rotaries work would understand why, and as such it is not the best car under 100k, sorry
Tom

The fact that the 3 MPS is much faster is a bit of a joke to mazda.

At least they have dropped the price significantly.
CapnCrunch

Richo I don’t understand that argument re emissions – how can they make twin turbo v10′s (eg RS6) pass Euro 4 for example?
Trump

The price needed to come down inline with the $AUD appreciation. The other importers should be doing the same.
I don’t buy protecting resale values. Until now its all been about lining their pockets.
Fenno

Tom,
Having driven ALL of the Mazda performance cars around Sandown, Willowbank, Oran Park, Mallala and a private training track in Perth I can prove to you that the MPS3 is faster than the RX-8 only during the in-gear roll-ons. Other than that RX-8 wins every time. The lack of torque means you can apply the power much earlier than in (pretty much) anything else (bar a 911).
It is a much better balanced car, and outbrakes the rest of the Mazda stable on every track mentioned above, on every corner.
Unfortunately the car does not reward ham-fisted drivers very well. So if you find yourself not going quickly in a RX-8. Look at yourself….not the car
John

They would sell a lot more if they just had more power. 184Kw (250Hp) should be the minimum for this car. Drop the weight a little also, say down to around the 1250Kg mark and this would definitely be the best sports car under $150K.
Tom

Fenno, i don’t think thats a very good argument that if your not going fast in it its the car’s fault

A decent sports car it is, but i mean, 170kw is 170kw..

Often poise can be made up by brute force, on both the racetrack and the road.

Bring back the RX7 engine.
Richo

Tom – it has to do with the design mate, as i said anyone with a proper understand of rotaries will understand what i’m on about. Ever wondered why rotaries burn sooo much oil even when brand new? Ever wondered why they pop and crackle so much more then a normal engine on overrun (mainly noticable when a sports exhaust is fitted). It’s due to the fact that rotaries don’t have an entirely complete combustion cycle like a piston engine does, and as such it tends to dump an aweful lot of crap through the exhaust. See a piston engine, has a full rotation of the engine to burn the fuel and dump the exhaust, whereas a rotary has barely half a turn to do the same thing, as such it isn’t usually completely finnished its burn cycle before the exhaust cycle begins, hence it dumps more unburnt fuel through the exhaust then a piston engine does.
Richo

sorry Tom, i meant CapnCrunch
http://evo Frugal One

WOW

HUGE price drop

Dream on sellers on Carsales/Drive etc etc

Cheers

F-0
Fenno

Tom,
Actually, it’s a very good arguement.
Not all cars are easy to drive fast.
Cars like WRX’s, Evo’s and Skylines can make a relatively slow driver look fast. These are vehicles that are quick from point to point and rely on huge power figures and short gearing to achieve their reputation. Every body complains that the RX-8 is under-powered, or under-torqued, but a fast car is not just about acceleration. It’s the whole package and that is what I base my FACTS upon. In relation to the power…I can put every one of the 177kw (that my spec has) onto the road a lot earlier and a lot cleaner than cars with twice the capacity, similar weights and/or turbos.
Dont believe me?
Try launching an MPS 3, hammering one in the wet or pushing past 8/10ths and you will see where they become to unglue. The drive then becomes more about controlling the power delivery than controlling the car itself.
These days many ‘performance’ cars tend to hide chassis deficiencies by either a; a well tuned ESP, or b:great rubber and tricky AWD/AYC/VDC systems.
The RX8′s DSC and E-diff controls are an on-road safety feature, not a driving aid and when removed from the equation (at the push of a switch) reveals the vehicle to be pure motoring and that’s what i based my OPINION on in my first post.
But, in all essence (for those of you still reading) we are entitled to have our opinion and I finally have had a chance to defend MY preference after listening to the completely repetetive FORD/TOYOTA/HOLDEN arguement that seems to seems to stir up in every forum on this site.
Alex

I have a bggered first rotor in my rx 8. Not enough oil. Cardinal sin I know but that’s histpry. I just want to get it fixed. What are the best options? I am in Perth. Thanks to anyone who can assist.