Tag Archives: Mazda

Drifting the RX-8

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The guys at Best Motoring did an entire feature on the RX-8 a little bit after it came out. This excerpt is them doing a drift evaluation on the chassis ending with a test drive of an RX-8 that competes in the D1 Drift Championship. At the end of the video, they discuss the possibility of a turbocharged RX-7 making a return. That would have been the 2 door version of the RX-8 with a factory turbocharged engine. Unfortunately engine problems and weak sales of the RX-8 ended that idea. It was rumored that Mazda was going to try and apply its new high compression Sky Active philosophies to a new, larger displacement engine, but I think they gave up on that as well. As it sits now, it looks like the rotary engine won’t be able to overcome its reliability and fuel efficiency shortcomings to make a return to the market. At least Mazda is still making sporty cars and continues a massive grassroots motorsports support program.


Source: GT Channel

RE Amemiya Testing for WTAC

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7Tune posted these pictures from a testing session at Fuji Speedway for RE Amemiya and Voltex. Both companies were prepping cars for the World Time Attack Challenge in Australia. Head over to 7Tune for the full story.

Road & Track Compares the Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX-5 and Hyundai Genesis

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Not to be outdone by Motor Trend’s recent sub $28k sports car shootout, Road & Track rounded up the Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX-5 and Hyundai Genesis Coupe with the 2.0 liter turbo engine for a rear wheel drive comparison. Watch the videos before you read my take on them:


As an added bonus they got 2011 Formula D Champion, Daijiro Yoshihara, to see which one he liked drifting the most.


I have yet to see the Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ lose a comparison yet. The real kicker is that everybody says that it could use more power, but still pick it to win. That just goes to show that Toyota/Subaru really got it right by going back to the basics of rear wheel drive, low center of gravity and light weight. I was very worried that these cars wouldn’t be received well simply because they didn’t make enough power for a modern audience, but it seems that people are actually appreciating the engineering effort that was put into matching the power with the tires, suspension and chassis to create a really high level of overall balance. Even so, it seems Toyota is thinking about covering the power issue.

Source: Road & Track on YouTube

Best Motoring Street Tuned RX-8 Battle

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My buddy Scott found this video on YouTube. It’s the Best Motoring guys seeing how well the Fujita Engineering RX-8 stacks up against recent crop of Newtype NA (high specific displacement, naturally aspirated engines usually above 2.0 liters in displacement) cars. If you’ve never watched Best Motoring before, it’s a group of Japanese race drivers, including drift king Keiichi Tsuchiya, who do car review videos. The signature characteristic of their series is that they will test new cars as well as tuned cars. It’s a unique feature born from the extensive Japanese automotive aftermarket. The Best Motoring track battles are fun to watch because the guys are all friends and have fun with each other while doing some world class driving.


Source: 9789FD3 on YouTube