The Mazda RX-8 was the rotary successor to RX-7 FD generation. It came on the market in April 2003 with two versions (210 horsepower and 250 horsepower) of the 13B-MSP Renesis engine. In addition to the base grade, a comfortable Type E and sporty Type S grade were available. The Type E had features such as leather seats, cruise control and an automatic transmission. The Type S had for example 18 inch aluminium wheels, a more sporty suspension setup and a manual transmission.
In 2008 there was a mid-life refresh with both technical and design changes. Towards the end of its lifecycle, Mazda decided to have one final top grade to end the production. This was the Spirit R grade, which is a similar naming as was used for the RX-7 final production run. The RX-8 Spirit R was released in November 2011.
Basically the Spirit R could be had in two variations. One was based on the Type S and the other one on the Type E. All Spirit R models came with black bezels for the headlights, front foglights and rear lights, bigger brakes in red color, Spirit R ornaments scattered around the vehicle, red stitching used in the black interior and engine performance modifications optimizing the power delivery of the engine.
The variation based on the Type S had the 6-speed manual transmission, special Recaro bucket seats with a mix of leather and fabric, a harder suspension with Bilstein dampers, bronze 19 inch aluminium wheels, an aluminium pedal set for the interior and aero parts on the exterior. The variation based on the Type E was more focused on comfort and thus had the 6-speed automatic transmission, more comfort oriented seats with 8-way power adjustability and 18 inch aluminium wheels in gun metal color.
The Spirit R could be had in three colors: aluminum metallic, sparkling black mica and crystal white pearl mica. The price for the manual transmission version was 3.25 Million Yen in 2011 while the automatic transmission version was a bit cheaper at 3.12 Million Yen. Mazda initially planned to sell 1000 units, but as the orders exceeded this number, Mazda decided to build another 1000 units.
Click on the picture below to see the Mazda RX-8 details and specifications per year such as weight, new price and equipment for each version in the Goo-net.com catalog.
The following two books are a recommendation for if you would like to know more about the Mazda RX-8: