If a car doesn’t need a major redesign every three or four years, you know they got it right the first time. When a car stays in production largely unchanged for twice that long, you know they really got it right.
Around since late ’03 and pretty much the same car today (with a few important tweaks – including the weekend racer R3 variant) the RX-8 has outlasted competitors like the Honda S2000 and watched competitors like the BMW Z3 become the Z4.
More than 182,000 have been sold – a big number for a specialty car.
Here’s a look at why.
WHAT IT IS
The RX-8 is a compact RWD sports car powered by a 1.3 liter rotary engine that can spin to 9,000 RPM. The RX-8 also has a second set of reverse-opening rear doors, which like the rotary engine is a feature no other sports car has.