Test drive Mazda RX-8 2003-2008 compartment

Sensing a flight

She is so alone. Not like anything. Alluring and delightful. And distant, like Alpha a Centaurus.
 



Undefined object
At half past eight in the morning, the October sun was just about to wipe through thick low clouds. In front of the hotel building at Copenhagen Airport, next to a string of taxi drivers always ready to work, a multi -colored line of Mazda cars lined up. A blessed and very rare case I can drive any of the models. If you want to choose a six, if you want an exotic MX-5 rubber, a gambling three or a compact diesel kopecks, which is sold only in Europe. What to choose? Eyes scatter.
 

And suddenly the bright light of xenon, the air cut with the sound with nothing comparable pure high solo. Something mysterious, bewitching and cheerful arose from the morning fog, as if a flying saucer materialized from the void, and froze very close.
 

I immediately forgot about everything else. For the whole day, my attention was focused only on this fantastic device RX-8.
 

Even if I were distinguished by incredible myopia and did not pay attention to his unusual appearance, only the blind could not notice such an original invitation. The path to the salon was opened by two doors opening towards each other. As in Rolls-Royce, a car is extremely rare and sky-high. You look, but it is very convenient to sit on the rear seats without problems. There is no central rack.
 
 


Fascinated by this beginning of dating, I did not immediately notice that, sitting behind the wheel, I had to bend like a professional gymnast. From the ground to the upper point of the body, only 134 cm. And the driver's seat is located slightly higher than it is accepted on many sports kara. But what a seat is it! It, like the chair of the ship commander, immediately accepts me in tenacious arms. And from the first moment I feel like one with a car.
 
   


In general, the salon (probably, is appropriate for the cutting of a spacecraft) does not indulge in spaciousness. At the same time, this is surprising! When you sit inside, the ceiling seems high. Here even a person could fit in two meters. But why is there a bunch of place and an impressive tunnel stretching through the entire salon?
 

     
Luke for long -breeds in the back of the rear seat, part -time serves as a capacious deep pocket


Well, at least my flying saucer has ordinary controls. Pedals, steering wheel, devices. However, ordinary, but not quite. KP handle is short, like a joystick. Dark wells on the panel come to life only with turning the key. And here ... Yes, there is no speedometer. Is it really not needed in this UFO? Although no, here he is! A small window with digital designations on the alpha Centauris of its own fashion. Well, how does she fly? Go...
 



Start key!
It wasn't there. In the first seconds, I wanted to fall through the ground with shame. He turned on the back, carefully touched the gas pedal, and the car treacherously stalled.
 

Here is a muddler! It turns out that instead of the back I turned on the sixth. And all because the step in the box, separating these two programs, is completely small, and the effort on the curtains is slightly more than on the spring of the fountain pen. On the second attempt, the car is touching and neatly have to navigate the side mirrors, visibility back here ... Mmmm also like on a spaceship puts the stern into the corridor between tightly chained taxis. Now the first and ... what kind of attack is this? The motor has stalled again. Maybe I can’t manage this thing at all?
 

Supplying the gas pedal and not lowering the tachometer arrow below 20002500, I finally leave the parking lot. Green. And here RX-8 realized what they want from her. This is the selection! The tachometer arrow after 3000 rocket takes off up. And the unusual, non-similar sound of the rotary motor, no bass notes characteristic of 68 cylinder engines, you will not hear even more forces that this device was designed by ordinary earth engineers.
 



Magical triangles
Meanwhile, if you open the hood of this Mazda, you will not find anything unusual. I tried a trivial plastic cover, now you will meet at every step. The secret is hidden deeper. The heart RX-8 is two-section (each of the sections of only 654 cm3) Rotor engine Renesis. It differs from the usual motor, like a balloon from the Mozhaisk aircraft, is an order of magnitude easier, and it can fly much further. No valves, familiar pistons, crankshaft and distribution shafts. Instead of them, a triangular (more precisely, if, in science, trochoid) form rotor, 10 side windows and release windows, 6 fuel nozzles and an oval combustion chamber. The rotor rotates with a frequency of up to 9000 rpm. And completely painlessly tolerates unusually high turns for most piston engines. But does not really like low. Remember my futile attempts to start with idle?
 

Despite the apparent simplicity and compactness, no one releases such motors today, except Mazda. Why? Only the Japanese provided the brainchild of engineer Vankel for at least 240 thousand kilometers of mileage and acceptably low (between 10 thousand about 1 liter) oil consumption. Only they were able to drive this engine into the hard ecological framework of EVRO IV. They taught him to quickly respond not only to an increase in fuel supply, but also to the discharge of gas. On the winding paths near the Swedish city of Malmo, I sincerely managed to drive the RX-8 motor in the area of \u200b\u200bthe red tachometer zone. And to find out, in particular, that when braking with transmission, the car slows down no worse than Alfa Romeo or Porsche.
 

It is not surprising that this very triangle-trochoid on the RX-8 was turned into a corporate sign of distinction. The recesses in the headrests, the rear fog lamp, the front air intake, the silver knob of the lever KP of each of these parts, the car unequivocally declares: I am not like everyone else!
 

However, most of the owners of the fastest Mazda will hardly think about what, in fact, is in its unusual rotary motor. The feeling of the flight that the RX-8 gives the driver makes you forget about boring matters and enjoy the ride. On the first 60, on the second 90, on the third 130 km/h. All this in a matter of seconds. I did not immediately remember that in Sweden more than 110 was impossible. But I can’t overcome the temptation. Only a squeak of a limiter, like a cold shower. And I am happy to screw into the next turn ...
 

However, the eight, of course, owe not only a magnificent motor, but also a wonderful talented chassis with its drivership abilities.
 
From Vankel to renosis

For the first time, Mazda took up rotor engines in the early 60s, having bought a license from the German company for the use of the Felix Vanciel motor. A two -section rotor with a capacity of 110 liters. With. He made his debut in the fall of 1963. And in May 1967, the serial coupe Cosmo-Sport-110S appeared with such an engine. Among the connoisseurs of sports cars, rotary engines became more and more popular. Already in 1976, the company produced 800 engines per day.
 

In almost 40 years, the Japanese gave out more than two dozen various models with Vankel engines. The most successful was the RX-7, produced from 1978 to 1999. Finally, the RX-7 upgraded renus, but without a supercharger appeared in Tokyo in 1999, and three years later, sales of serial RX-8 began.




Her secrets
A light and durable body close to the perfect weightlifting, carefully tuned suspension and steering, this is what the future car was the chief engineer-comprehensive Mazda Izao Toda, giving his subordinates the task. To save the mass, RX-8 was equipped not only with aluminum hood and rear doors, but also with a cardan shaft of carbon fiber. The spatial design, which is the bottom of the machine, includes the front and rear subframes, a special shape of the cross -member of high -strength steel and, most importantly, the carriage of the central tunnel. Remember, he still seemed to me too bulky? In fact, this is the result of a quite acceptable compromise. In a spacious interior, you can sacrifice a spacious salon to some extent. But the hardness of the body for twice is two times higher than that of the predecessor of the RX-7 model.
 

The suspension is also great for sports driving. In front, purely racing structure on parallel triangular levers. And behind the Japanese engineers supplemented the same triangular levers with longitudinal, trying to give the car a fraction of comfort. Steering with an electric hydraulic power system. Nevertheless, on a steep arc, even at the extremely high speed, I did not feel the lack of feedback.
 



The queue for pleasure
Non -standard appearance, unique swing doors, a magnificent motor, excellent running qualities all together is a portrait of a machine whose main task is to bring pleasure. The more that there are still units in Russia. Gray dealers overshadowed prices and scared away a short guarantee. Everything should change by winter. In December, the official dealers of the Japanese brand will begin to accept orders. Preliminary price $ 4550 thousand. This is less than most competitors, Z4, SLK, TT, S2000, crossfire.
 

According to the Mazda received by the Russian representative office, only 150 such coupe can be delivered in 2005. Eh, it is a pity that I can’t enroll in the queue. Wife, three children, a dog ... with such introductory and with my salary, I can only count on a chitz on credit. And on the way to the service I will dream of flying to Alpha of a Centaurus.

 
PER

Attractive appearance, acute handling, magnificent motor, the most convenient landing in the rear seats, 3-year guarantee among the sports coupe
AGAINST

Mediocre thrust at low speeds, poor visibility of back, lack of adjustment of the steering column in height, a close gear shift mechanism
 
Mazda RX8

common data
 
Equipped mass, kg
1485
 
Length x width x height, mm
4435x1770x1340
 
Base, mm
2700
 
Speed, km/h
246
 
Acceleration time 0100 km/h, with
6.4
 

Fuel consumption, l/100 km highway/city
8.9/15.8
 


Engine
 
Working volume, SMZ
2x654 (given volume 2.6 l)
 
Power, L.S. at rpm
231/8200
 
Torque, kgsm at rpm
21.5/5000
 
 
Alexey Sergeev, photo of the author
 
 

Source: Magazine buy a car [20/2004]