Mazda has always championed the poor old rotary engine when others have shunned it in favour of more conventional engines.
And to celebrate 40 years of sticking rotary engines under its bonnets, Mazda has brought out a special edition of the slightly unloved RX-8.
40 years after Mazda launched its ?rst rotary-powered car, the Mazda Cosmo Sport back in 1967, the 40th Anniversary comes with uprated suspension with Bilstein dampers and an aerodynamic rear spoiler.
Mazda says the front suspension cross members are filled with polyurethane foam for an even quieter ride over harsh surfaces.
Inside there is black leather and Alcantara for the seats and new trim.
The car also comes in two new colours – a newly-developed Metropolitan Grey Mica and Crystal White Pearlescent.
There are unique 10-spoke, 18” alloys, blue-light fog lamps and anniversary badges on the front wings.
Sadly Mazda hasn’t done anything to the 231 bhp twin-rotor engine but the car will still hit 62mph in 6.4 seconds and is capable of a top speed of 146mph.
Rob Lindley, managing director for Mazda UK, said: ‘The fact that the Mazda RX-8 can truly seat four adults in comfort is a real and distinct advantage over the competition, and demand for it remains strong with more than 2,800 units registered so far this year.’
The car will be £24,595, that’s £1,500 more than the standard model.
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)