Well, this movie clip might not be new, but I haven't seen it before. It show the a RX-8 on a track. http://www.rx-8.mazda.co.jp/movie/ . I got the link and among other things from "Mazda RX-8 Mail Magazine Vol 1". It's in Japanese and I don't read Japanese. I'll try Bablefish translator to see if it can make sense of it. I'll post more later.

 

Wallpapers 800x600:







1024X768 is available here:

http://www.rx-8.mazda.co.jp/fun/wallpaper.html

 

The same video was already posted before by Hercules.

 

Oops, didn't see this post before posting mine. Oh well .

 

All black interior, no colour inserts! You can also see the sunroof in the bottom picture (look at the headliner).

Edit - I've just got to say, that really looks sharp. If it is possible to get an all black interior with some aluminum highlights, that is definately the route I'm going.

 

Off to Pictures, where it belongs...

---jps

 

Ooh ooh! The second picture is great. It showed me something I didn't realize before. The taillights curve up to 'meet' the arc of the rear window in that side profile. I drew a line in the attached picture to show what I mean... I love subtle intersecting/cooperating lines like that!

 

Turn signals are still on the mirrors vs what was seen at Sevenstock ...

I hope they stay.

 

Also note that the seats are thicker, and that the seatbelts have moved back off of the seats onto the rear doors where they belong. Perhaps this is probably an updated model showing the final interior design? Regardless, it sure looks nice.

-Patrick

 

Good eye! Didn't notice the seatbelts.

 

Don't forget what appears to be the shade of a sunroof showing on the interior shot too.

---jps

 

Bad move. This means you HAVE to undo your seatbelt in the front before someone can enter/exit through a rear door (as opposed to just opening the front door a few inches to unlatch the back door whilst still sitting belted up).
Plus it's a harder reach to find the belt in the first place when you enter the front seat. On this car I would much prefer the belt to be part of the front seat as on most expensive convertibles.

 

That's always as struck me as odd from a safety and weight standpoint. Don't you have to make the seat much stronger (i.e. heavier) to withstand the stresses of the hard pulls on the seatbelt if you do that? Given that the leading edge of the rear door is already strongly reinforced so that it's a virtual b-pillar when closed, it seems to make much more sense from a safety and weight point of view to attach the seatbelt there.

-Patrick

 

I think that is the problem that Mazda engineers had to balance:
More convenient but heavier to attach the belt to the seat vs. lighter weight attaching it to the virtual B-pillar.
For me, and I suspect most others, the RX-8 will primarily be used a single occupancy vehicle (i.e. ~80% of the time). I don't mind saving a few pounds for the added inconvenience of undoing my seatbelt to let a backseat passenger out on the rare occasions when:
a) I actually have a backseat passenger, probably less than 20% of the time
b) I'm not getting out with the backseat passenger anyway.

 

BryanH, thanks for pointing out that character line the leading edge of the tail lights draws between the rear glass and bumper. That's pretty sweet! If they cut off the car at the line you drew, it would look like an updated MGB coupe or something retro like that.

I think putting the seat belts on the rear doors was the best possible comprimise. That will save weight and safety issues. They will get out of the way when you open the door and shouldn't be hard to reach. Only shorter folks who keep their seats slid pretty far forward may have a problem having to reach around to get the belts. Has anyone heard anything more about the seats? I'd be happy if they leave them manual adjusting but I'd be surprised if there isn't a power seat option in some package eventually.

 

yeah, manual seats would be fine. a car like this is not something you let other people drive so i figure i'd adjust them once.

 

In the first wallpaper, there is a shot of the rx from dead on front. But notice how the plastic inserts are still in the smaller grill intakes. That picture is obvioulsy not of the production rx-8. More evidence: Click below. The picture is the same as a picture released by mazda when the yellow concept was released. The red one has simply been altered to change the color.

 

yeah the light reflection under the passenger headlight is exactly the same, that is probably why you only see half of the car, its hard to photoshop the colored instrument panel hood.
but the blurred side view on that wallpaper is the same car that is in the second wallpaper with its doors open. if you look in thru the drivers window of the blurred one you can see the sunroof that is also visible in the one with the doors open. hmmm... i am confused now. why color an old pic if you have just taken shots of a newer car, unless they are hiding the fact that they have taken those inserts out and have changed the headlights?!

edit: and the black n white pics in the first are probably the yellow one also. easier to uncolor them then work around the lights

 

Bingo.

 

hello everyone, this is my first post

can someone explain to me how putting the seatbelts on the door is helpful in reducing weight and is better from a safety standpoint. imo it will actually be worse when its mounted on the door for eg. in the case of a side collision b'cos that will definitely affect the seatbelt in some regard.

unless they put seat mounted side airbags and didn't have any space for the belts

 

Hi Jay, and welcome! :D

 

The front edge of the RX-8's rear door is reinforced to be as strong as a standard B-pillar in most cars. Attaching the seatbelt to that location gives it a very strong anchor point very similar to how seatbelts are anchored in joe-standard-sedan.

Attaching the seatbelt to the seat, OTOH, means that various seat elements, particularly where the seatbelt attaches to the seat, has to be strong enough to keep from snapping/shattering/cracking, etc in a collision. I'm no expert, but I would guess that such strength has an associated cost...

-Patrick

 

Seatbelts don't really help you much in a side collision.

 

Are you sure about that?

---jps

 

A couple things....

First you attach it to the door pillar. Arent the belts gonna REALLY bang around when you open or close that rear door? Most of the time, belts are on stationary objects, not doors.

Second, the front overhang on the red car looks WAY shorter than the yellow concept. Is it just angle, or did they seriously do that? I like it shorter. Car looks much tighter, and less flabby. When the yellow came out, that was the first thing i noticed, the longer overhangs. Glad they went back, if they did...