Istanbul, Turkey is building the world’s largest dealership. Sitting at 708,661 square-feet, this buildings most interesting feature has to be the rooftop test track. While this is not a new idea to architecture, it is indeed a cool one. Check out the video rendering!
After hearing that Mazda will pull the plug on the Rx-8, I was saddened to hear that this little car will be heading towards extinction. Being compared towards other vehicles i.e. The Honda S2000, Nissan 350Z (Dedicated 2 seater Sports cars) the rx-8 would always be the underdog. To me the Rx-8’s place was that of a sedan that provided a 2 seater experience, not a full blown performance machine. Being no stranger to rotary power myself, I started to think; what if Mazda decided to opt for a full performance machine instead of the latter. After a quick sketch session in Adobe and a hint of color, I’m proud to introduce the Mazda Rx-8 Speed7 Concept.
Starting with the base Mazda Speed Rx-8, I have removed the rear doors and seats making it a true coupe. This would subtract weight, with the side effect of also shorting the wheelbase. As for the engine, the current Renesis would be more than enough with this setup but adding a 3rd rotor would not hurt. If someone were to ever attempt something like this, it would be interesting to see the results compared to its competition. Mazda should take a page out of Nissans book and produce 21 special editions with a Renesis version of the 20b engine. Considering that The Rx-8 was never a replacement for the Legendary RX-7, it probably will not have anything to continue its legacy in the times to come. Though I suspect a successor might show once the world switches to something like the hydrogen fuel cell.
I leave with the words of buzz killington — IP Jalopttorney. “I will not mourn the passing of its kind; we will not mark the end of its line with sadness. Nay, we will celebrate its existence by dancing exuberantly around our favorite concrete on-ramp at the end of the work day, and I will treat it to a generous feeding of rpm on the way home.” The Rx-8 had all the right bits…questionable looks, quirky engine & superb handling; RIP my little friend RIP…..