The Wankel is a frustrating engineering exercise, and I think it may be time to let it go. I mean it makes so much sense on paper, but it’s always had reliability and oil consumption problems for the decades that Mazda has been building them. Not to mention it has a horribly weak torque curve and the fuel economy is just completely awful.

In a way, the engine tries to answer a question that nobody asked. In the end, its an engine nobody really needs, as its only advantages are its compact size and low weight. There really are no other advantages, unfortunately.

Sick, anything to keep RX cars on the road, I see more heritage in that car when it goes by than most cars.

Kudos to Mazda for doing this. I think this will really help their reputation, although it won’t for the rotary but if you buy a RX8, then you have to know the pros and cons to having a rotary engine. Hopefully Mazda can improve the Wankel with its next Renesis engine. I loved the RX-7, and if it wasn’t for the cons of the rotary the RX8 would be my first choice for my next ride. but with gas going up, and it’s unfortunate low end torque, it’s keeping me from personally buying one. Although still love Mazda’s and I wish it success and am anticipating the RX7 coming back hopefully.

This car would have been astonishing if it had a v6 or a turbo 4. I mean look at that body.

^^ NO!! It would have been astonishing if it had a 3 rotor, screw cylinders!!

I roll with Z06ified on this one as the rotary engine has never been perfected. Fun as hell, but never perfected. I would be turned off by the extended warranty, and engine repairs as the biggest grievance I have is that the dealership can never replicate production conditions and they are never as concise or thorough in their execution. I do not know how often I have had to return to a dealership and point out what they left off. It only me makes wonder what else, that I cannot see, has been done incorrectly.

For racing purposes, the rotary kicks ass. Its simple, compact design, less moving parts, balance, and light weight make the Rotary what it is. However for regular use, the Rotary definitely lacks.

Love my 8. Love it even more now. It may not produce brutal hp or tq but it’s a freaking blast to drive, track and autox. When buying it I came to the conclusion I will never have the fastest car so I might as well have the best handling, fun to drive four seater in the US.

I just saw one riding on flatbed couple of days ago and was wondering why new looking car with no visible accident damage was riding there.

savedsol – “I will never have the fastest car so I might as well have the best handling, fun to drive four seater in the US.”

I am afraid the Evo has you beat there my friend.

It’s too bad no one else ever took up the rotary cause. I remember GM making minor waves in the 70’s with a rotary Vette but that died on the vine. I’m sure a little competition would have sped up development.

^ True johnnycanuck, GM did a lot of R&D on the rotary, but could never quite get it right. Not only GM but a lot of companies tried with the rotary. Mazda has been the only automotive company to stick it out with the Wankel. While they have certainly improved it some even say perfected, that they quite haven’t done. I’m really curious to see what Mazda comes out with when the new Renesis comes out. Hopefully in a revived RX7.

Majority of RX-8 engines troubles are caused by pure abuse as people don’t how to USE the rotary to get all the benifts it has to offer. It’s the “Dude, this thing revs to 9000 let’s take it for a spin….” attitude not the engine.

BTW, Mazda was not the only one, Russian Lada produced smalle series of Rotary equipped cars until late 1990s. They sucked.

This because of the oil thing?

They have their place (remind me of driving a 2 stroke) and Ive heard DI w/Turbo is going to improve what the rotary lacks a much broader torque curve.
You should not buy one if your not going to take care of it, like most high strung engines it needs maintainence.

That is true, rumor out of Mazda is that DI with the electically controlled turbo do wonders for the rotary.

In Soviet Russia, RX-8 warranty extends YOU!!

didn’t know that kitko, I thought all Ladas sucked anyways.

a DI electronically controlled turbo rotary sounds exciting.

The good thing about electronically controlled turbos is that the turbo works at all rpms and engine speeds.

Kudos to Mazda for their dogged persistence but lets face facts, the Rotary is a bit like a jet engine, high power to weight ratio, but poor thermal efficiency, hence poor fuel economy. Say what you want about GM, but in the 1970’s, they had the resources to make anything work had they believed the engine had promise. It proved to be a dead end then. Same for Mercedes. All who have pursued this have apparently come to the same conclusion. Maybe Hydrogen will be it’s savior.

The rotary engine is a brilliant piece of engineering. It’s such a clean, elegant, efficient piece of industrial design. But it’s dogged by real-world production issues.

I’m glad that Mazda is sticking with it. I hope they make its reliability and fuel efficiency competitive with the next iteration.

Johnny, Mazda purchased rotary from German company, which itself was purchased by Audi.

kitko, all ladas sucked with or without wankel; just not as bad as moskvich or volga.

inline6, it was a great engine in Mazda 7 25 years ago. Then 7 was light and nimble. Torque, or luck of it, did not matter in a light car.

Torque always matters it is what launches a car.