Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mazda Taiki concept.

The rotary engine is world-renowned for many things, but fuel-efficiency isn't one of them. Mazda wants to make Wankel's masterpiece the poster child for its hydrogen-powered endeavors, so it's considering offering a dual-fuel version of the engine in its next RX-badged offering.

According to AutoExpress, Mazda's RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle will evolve into a new model, dubbed the RX-9, and is rumored to be motivated by a hydrogen-gasoline powertrain that will offer 20 percent better fuel economy and emissions over a traditional gasoline-powered Rotary. The rear-wheel-drive coupe will take styling cues from the Taiki concept and a dash-mounted switch allows drivers to toggle between gasoline and hydrogen fuel systems. For city driving, the hydrogen setting will be employed, which will reduce fuel consumption (at the expense of a 20 percent drop in power), while the gasoline system can be employed when drivers desire more performance.

Mazda's goal is to make the rotary engine's performance, fuel economy and emissions up the level of gasoline-electric hybrids, and if AE's sources are to be believed, the hydrogen-powered RX-9 should arrive in 2012.


[Source: AutoExpress]

The Mazda 929 from the '90s was a rear-wheel-drive technological marvel that was ultimately unsuccessful because of its hefty price tag and Americans' infatuation with the SUV. Times have changed and big cars are cool again, with just about everybody on the market offering a large sedan. Mazda, however, is an obvious exception. The artists over at CGI Automotive decided to render out a future Mazda9 just for fun, and while it looks a bit awkward, the overall idea is pretty solid.

Out front, the blue rendering holds true to the design of the upcoming Mazda6, but Audi-like jewelry has been added to the headlamps and the lower air dams look aggressive and sporty. The bulging wheel arches borrow from the Mazda6 and RX-8, and the roof-line is tapered to give it the four-door coupe look. The one thing that would have to change is the hatchback, which might be OK on smaller Mazdas, but is unattractive for a large flagship sedan. Would we like to see a Mazda9 flagship sedan? Hell yes, the more Zoom Zoom the better. But it would have to be more distinctive and less hatch-like, or it'd suffer the same fate as the 929 of years gone by.

[Source: CGI Automotive via Carscoop]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Mazda RX-8.

You've got to hand it to Mazda for its perseverance with the Wankel rotary engine design. Ever since it's engineers managed to make it semi-reliable, the turbine-like smoothness of the quick-spinning lump has seen duty in numerous Mazda-branded vehicles, and even a few others as well. Still, despite constant engineering work and updates to the basic rotary engine design, there is a lingering question about the reliability of the design. Most owners seem happy with the engines in their RX, that is, until a seal blows or they forget to keep the oil supply topped up and it fails to restart. Or it floods in the winter, needing a tow. Alright... so there may be a few problems.

To ease the minds of RX-8 owners and owners-to-be, Mazda has reportedly decided to extend the warranty coverage for the 2004-2008 Renesis rotary engine for a period of eight years or 100,000 miles. Mazda even goes so far as to offer reimbursement to those who've spent money on engine repairs before 100,000 miles. This seems like a nice measure made in good faith on Mazda's part. After all, most educated owners of the rotary-powered cars knew what they were getting when these purchases were made, and the engine was already covered under the same basic warranty that comes standard with all Mazda vehicles. Nice work, Mazda.

In the interest of full disclosure, this particular blogger bought an RX-8 new in 2004, though it was sold two years later.


[Source: RX8Club.com]

click above to enlarge

The photo above looks too cool not to be a future RX-8 incarnation, but the rendering merely represents one Mazda fan's interpretation of the next Rotary-powered sports coupe. Forum poster Rhoadwh over at Fomoconews concocted the sweet-looking coupe after picking up on the most sensible parts of the Taiki and Furai concepts from this past year's auto circuit. Rhoadwh chose the front engine layout of the Taiki and the overall design theme of the completely badass Furai to make a race-ready RX-9 for the future.

Sure, this rendering is just one guy having fun, but we're with him in hoping that Mazda takes into account the outstanding design language used in the Taiki concept, and even more so the Furai. It's amazing what someone with Photoshop and a healthy dose of talent can do. Thanks for the tip, Mbuku!

[Source: Fomoconews]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Mazda RX-8

While we've already seen the new digs that Mazda has given its 2+2, rotary-powered RX-8 model at the Tokyo Auto Salon and Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, the car that's always been shown up to this point has been the top shelf RS model. Perhaps you're curious to know what a base RX-8 looks like without the big wheels and wings. Well, the updated RX-8 has gone on sale today in Japan, and Mazda has released new images that show the car without all that high-performance filigree. The larger air intakes up front remain, but gone are the deep chin spoiler, rear spoiler and 19-inch wheels. One of the lesser models known as the Type-E in Japan makes do with new standard 17-inch wheels (up from 16-inches). Mazda's changes to the RX-8 are more than skin deep and nearly all will be featured on models sold in the U.S., as well. Check out the list of details in Mazda's press release after the jump and peruse the galleries below for more RX-8 goodness, including new action shots of the RS model.



[Source: Mazda]

Click the image above for a gallery of the 2009 Mazda RX-8.

Mazda's redesigned RX-8 has officially been released into the wild and, surprise, it's exactly the same as the RS model that debuted at the Tokyo Auto Salon, right down to the wheels. Mazda admits that the 2009 RX-8 is simply a mild evolution of the outgoing model, with a few changes to the exterior and interior, along with a couple of mechanical revisions and a new suspension package.

On the outside, the RX-8's shape is largely unchanged, with a new front and rear bumper, restyled front fascia and larger exhaust pipes. Inside, Mazda has redone the instrument panel and included a "variable red-zone" on the tach that indicates when the Wankel is up to operating temperature (similar to BMW's M-powered products).

Follow the jump for more...

click above for more images of the Mazda RX-8 RS

According to World Car Fans, the vehicle you see above is the JDM-only RX-8 RS that's scheduled to be unveiled this week at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan's version of our own aftermarket SEMA Show. In advance of the car's debut, Mazda was nice enough to release two images of the RX-8 RS with its fresh face and updates, some of which we may see in a few days on the standard RX-8 at the Detroit Auto Show. The rest of the 25 images we have in our gallery came from Motor Authority, higher-res versions of which are likely forthcoming from Mazda as soon as the car officially debuts.

The RX-8 RS features larger air intakes on the front fascia that now incorporate a set of flush-fitting fog lights. There's also a chin spoiler that flares out near the edges to divert air up and into the intakes. New taillights can be seen on the car's rear, as well as a spoiler we're not likely to get on garden-variety RX-8. We probably won't see those new 19-inch wheels either, but wouldn't mind if we did.

Mazda did not divulge any information with the two images it officially released, so we can't tell you what's under the hood of the RX-8 RS, whether the engine is an update of the current Renesis motor or an all-new one. The Detroit Auto Show starts on Sunday, at which time all will be revealed.

[Source: World Car Fans, Motor Authority]

click above image to enlarge

Mazda held a traditional sending off ceremony yesterday for its first shipment of vehicles to leave its headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan in the new year. This is done at the beginning of every year and all the big execs come out to watch new vehicles like the Mazda2 and CX-7 get loaded onto a shipping vessel and whisked away to markets abroad. Rotarynews.com, however, noticed something particularly interesting in the photos of the event that Mazda released. Decorated in balloons and streamers is a Mazda RX-8 Convertible, a version of the RX-8 that doesn't technically exist and which we've never seen before. Its duties appear to be parade-like in nature, slowly transporting two execs around a parking lot who are seen standing up on the back seat and holding onto a crossbar. It's probably just a one-off vehicle that was made for occasions like this, but at least you now know that an RX-8 Convertible does exist and that it can be done. Thanks for the tip, Walter!

[Source: Mazda, Rotarynews.com]

As more and more artists' impressions of the anticipated Mazda RX-9 surface online, images have leaked showing us what the interim facelifted version of the current RX-8 will look like. The image, as you can see, comes from a scanned Japanese magazine.

The changes appear to be exclusively cosmetic. Up front, the grille has been revised to feature higher-mounted fog lamps under new, wider headlights. Around back the taillamps have been updated with four round LED rings. That's pretty much the extent of it, although the car pictured is a new RS version featuring 19" wheels, Recaro racing buckets and Bilstein shocks.

The facelift is reportedly targeted mainly towards American customers, and may not even make it to other markets. We'll bring you more from the updated RX-8's anticipated launch at the fast-approaching Detroit auto show.

[Source: Mazda-Madness.nl via World Car Fans]

Japanese car magazines often use 'chopped photos willy-nilly, so take this with a grainy bit of salt, but it appears that a scan of the face-lifted Mazda RX-8 has hit the web. We'll know for sure if this low-resolution subterfuge is accurate or not when the actual freshened RX-8 has its sheet cleaved away at the NAIAS in Detroit. From what we can see, changes are pretty subtle, with the most visual revisions restricted to the front and rear fascias. There's a new grille treatment up front and the two flanking air intakes changed a bit, with the foglamps moving up to a position at the top of the opening. Mazda-philes will be able to differentiate the early and late RX-8s in a heartbeat, but the rest of the population will notice absolutely nothing. There are substantive changes beyond the styling, the chassis has gotten some attention, acceleration is said to be improved and inside there are supposed to be more upgrades. It sounds like the 2009 RX-8 is this model's mid-cycle freshening, and they're putting more goodies in the car to keep people interested in Mazda's sweet-handling four-place GT.

[Source: 0-60]