<P> As popular interest in import tuning and performance cars resurged in the late - 1990s due in part to various popular cultural influences, Japanese automakers waded back into the performance and sports car market in the US . In addition, Mazda endeavoured to rejuvenate itself around this time, partially with financial and management assistance from Ford, and successfully developed a new product line of high quality cars with desirable styling and superior driving dynamics compared to their competitors, beginning with the Mazda6 and followed by the Mazda3, paving the way for the arrival of Mazda's next - generation rotary sports car . </P> <P> The RX - 8 combined two previous products (the internationally sold RX - 7, and the Cosmo which was exclusive to Japan), with the exterior dimensions of the RX - 8 to be slightly smaller than those of the Cosmo . Mazda chose not to install the 2.0 L three - rotor 20B - REW, which was discontinued in 1996 when the Cosmo ceased production . In Japan, sales were affected by the fact that the RX - 8 did not comply with Japanese Government dimension regulations, and Japanese buyers were liable for yearly taxes for driving a larger car . The rotary engine had financial advantages to Japanese consumers in that the engine displacement remained below 1.5 litres, a significant determination when paying the Japanese annual road tax which kept the obligation affordable to most buyers, while having more power than the traditional inline engines . </P> <P> Development of the RX - 8 can be traced as far back as the 1995 Mazda RX - 01 concept car, which featured an early iteration of the 13B - MSP engine . Naturally aspirated with side exhaust ports, this engine produced 210 hp (160 kW). Because of Mazda's financial state at the time and the growing market interest in SUVs, the RX - 01 did not see further development or production . However, a "skunkworks project" engineering team within Mazda kept the development of the 13B - MSP alive using an elongated MX - 5 Miata chassis known internally as "gokiburi - ka", or "coachroach car" translated to english, eventually catching the attention of management, which at this time had come under heavy influence from Ford . Development of the 13B - MSP advanced and eventually led to the RENESIS name debuting along with the RX - EVOLV concept car which began to bear semblance to the production RX - 8 with the "freestyle" rear suicide doors . Styling was developed, in Mazda tradition, by competition between its design studios in Japan, the US, and Europe . The lead designer was Ikuo Maeda, the son of Matasaburo Maeda (the lead designer on the original Mazda RX - 7). The project obtained official approval from management under one condition, that it have four doors, and eventually the RX - 8 concept car (design / engineering model) was produced and shown in 2001, closer resembling the production version . A near - production "reference exhibit" RX - 8 was shown shortly thereafter at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, pending final approval for production . Production RX - 8 closely resembles this vehicle save for minor trim details, and "Job 1" began in February 2003 at Mazda's Hiroshima plant in Japan . </P> <P> The RX - 8 was designed as a front mid-engine, rear - wheel drive four - door, four - seater quad coupe . The car has near 50: 50 front - rear weight distribution and a low polar moment of inertia, achieved by mounting the engine behind the front axle and the fuel tank ahead of the rear axle . The front suspension uses double wishbones and the rear is multi-link . Weight is trimmed through the use of materials such as aluminium and plastic for several body panels . The rest of the body is steel, except for the plastic front and rear bumpers . The manual gearbox model uses a carbon fiber composite driveshaft to reduce the rotational mass (momentum of inertia) connected to the engine . At the heart of the Mazda RX - 8 is its high - revving, 1.3 - liter rotary engine. (1) Power is sent to the rear wheels through a torque - sensing conical limited slip differential for improved handling . While underpowered in comparison to the final RX - 7, the RX - 8 is considered its successor as Mazda's rotary engine sports sedan . Its layout and clever engineering, along with typical Mazda suspension tuning have endowed it with excellent driving dynamics which have garnered much praise and numerous awards . It has also proved popular in Japan among car enthusiasts as well as aftermarket equipment manufacturers and professional tuners . </P>

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