Rotor geek went to see the RX8 on display at South Beach, California he has taken 30+ photos of a red high power model including some detailed close ups.

Car looks fantastic, follow the link below and enjoy.

Rotorgeek's photo album

 

Some great shots. Pity about that tatty red combintaion interior though!! (Oilman will love these though).

rael

 

Had a good look and some very useful pics!

The red does look deep which I like.

Cheers
Oilman

 

California. Thats tooo far for me. It was in florida. Any questions let me know. I was playing around with it for like 2 hours

 

Shows my lack of USA geographical knowledge.

Thank's for the great photos Rotorgeek, I may just take you up on that offer.

On the rear light cluster, there are the circular red lights and red leds mounted towards the ends of the chrome effect bars, which are the driving lights (circular) and which function as the brake lights (LEDs)?

 

RotorGeek,

Superb pictures greatly appreciated. Couple of questions;

1) What was your impression on the overall quality of the interior? Is it superior to the standard Japanese plastic and how close does it get to the the best of European quality (ie Audi or Merc)?

2) Will the odd shaped boot take a large family size suitcase?

3) Did the seat feel potentially supportive (ie side supported)?

4) The steering wheel does not look particularly sporty, ie no obvious little kinks and grips. What did it feel like?

5) How comfortable was the position of the gear shift and did the handbrake feel obtrusive.

Many thanks,

rael.

 

Hi Rael

I think I can answer your questions after sitting in the car in Geneva.

1. Interior much better than Impreza/Evo standard. Maybe not up to Audi levels of solidity but more attractive than the A4 cabrio I was in last week.

2. I think it would fit lengthwise but would be pretty awkward to manhandle in and out through the letterbox shape opening.

3. Reasonable lateral support, although not a full race bucket effect.

4. Steering wheel is nothing special.

5. Gear lever position is great and handbrake does not come into play. I tried this from the right hand seat to make sure.

Cheers

Rob

 

Ok where do I start

Titanium Grey:
The Leds work as the parking light as do the circular lights. When you hit the brakes the circular light get brighter.

rael:
This was a preproduction model. I was told the production one will have the same materials. I was amazed how well put together the interior was. Mazda used several different plastics and vinyl textures. It is without a doubt the best interior I have seen on a japanize sportscar.

The suitcase will fit if you can get it in. The opening is smaller then the boot.

The seat was soo comfortable. It was very supportive, but not to the STI, EVO8 standards. But let me tell you this when you sit in the front and close the door. You will completely forget you have two more seats inback.

The steering wheel has no indentations, but it is very thick and tilts down very low. I thought it felt very good. The radio controls are positioned perfectly, I sat and started playing with the radio useing the steering controls first it felt more natural

OMG the gear shift. It was in perfect position for shifting. It has very short throws The **** it self had a nice feel to it. The emergency was placed in such a fashion that it was easy to find but not obtrusive in anyway. It felt like a world rally car. Just perfect too make the tail kick out. (Better for parallel parking.

Overall the interior was just amazing. The fit and finish was excellent. I can see that Mazda spent the same amount of time on the interior as they did with the Exterior. Dont get me started on the speckers. LOL

 

Thank you for that.

re Speakers, please do, I presume you are talking about the BOSE system.

rael.

 

Is it S2000 short? If you have driven or played with one to compare please share, I absolutely love clicking through the gears on that box.

 

Well the bose that was installed was the Premium system. I have a friend that installs systems with JL Audio, MB Quart, etc. I know a good system when I hear one. I was not allowed to close all the doors and see how it sounded completely sealed up, I was able to close up the driver side and it was plenty loud. The 9in subs give a good amount of bass that you can feel on your calfs. The Mids and highs sounded very clear. I could tell that the center cannel was working good because you could tell most of the singing was comeing from the center front of the car. The sound was very good from all positions in the car. I sat on all four seats to check this. If I were to do anything to this system I would put better subs to enable more bass and install an amp to control them. I am used to hearing two 12in subs with an amp now. The autopilot worked ok. the car would raise or lower the volume whenever I opened or closed the door. You could turn off the autopilot if needed. It is far better then the 350Z and G35 sound system.


The shifter was very similar the 6 speed on the 2002 Miata and close to the S2000. It is somewhere in the middle. I was very concerned about that too. You will not be disappointed

 

Thanks for the info Rotorgeek, the interior and sound system are important if you're on a long journey.

Do you feel this car will eat up the miles?

Cheers
Oilman

 

Well the ergos are excellent. The motor is smooth as butter (at idle you cannot feel when it is turned on). The sound system kicks a$$. The seat is comfortable. I can see many road tripps with it.