2004 Mazda RX-8 - The Perfect Car for Sporting Parents
A collective sigh let out from sports car enthusiasts across North America when Mazda announced it would pull the beloved RX-7 from our market in 1994, after the last 1993 models were sold. Few vehicles were as purpose built to a specific task than Mazda's little road racer was to pure performance driving. Therefore with good reason it has been missed.
Fortunately Mazda hasn't stood aloof from the countless requests by North American fans for its return. Yet if it ever does see the light of day on this side of the pacific it'll be based on one contingency. A future 2-seater will be dependant on the success of the radically different RX-8.
How different? With 4-doors and 4-seats the RX-8 would normally fall into the sedan category, but its low swept roofline, racy bodywork and RX nomenclature scream out sports car loud and clear. Either way the upcoming 'crossover' looks sensational no matter what vertical you try to place it in. Its large twin front brake ducts are bisected by a gaping engine intake that hints at Mazda's now trademark trapezoidal grille. Following its outer edges the long hood bulges in a triangular shape back to the raked A-pillars while muscular fenders wrap over the top of each front wheel and then around their backs, garnished with a black vertical stripe-like air exhaust vent - most evident when looking from the rear quarter view.