Mazda’s rotary-powered RX-8 sports car has fallen victim to low sales and more importantly, stricter emissions standards.
According to a report from Automotive News, production of the RX-8 stopped in early July while the remaining inventory will be sold by the end of this year. The demise of the RX-8 was something we expected since Mazda stopped offering the car in Europe last year, after failing to meet the more strict EU emission standards. Last year, the Hiroshima-based company managed to deliver just 1 134 units, a 49% decline compared to 2009, while sales in the first half of 2011 decreased by a further 21%.
The front-engined rotary sports car was launched by Mazda in 2003 and its best sales year was 2004 with 23 690 units. It was the last in the line of rotary-powered sports cars that started in 1971 with the RX-2, continued through the years with the successful RX-7, which lasted for three generations and finally ended with the, much-admired for its driving characteristics, RX-8.
But is this really the end of the world’s last mass-produced rotary-powered sports car? Kiyoshi Fujiwara, the brand’s executive officer for product planning and powertrain development, revealed that the company was indeed considering the cancellation of some projects due to economic reasons, and the successor to the RX-8 was one of them.
However, Fujiwara claims no final decision has been taken yet. “I have always said that rotary engines are part of our soul,” said Fujiwara. “We have to continue the rotary evolution”. He also added that its future depends largely on the success of the newly introduced petrol and diesel SKYACTIV engines: if they sell in big numbers, then Mazda will have the funds to go ahead with the project.
