Mazda RX-8 Original Generation Spirit R

Position in the RX-8 range

The Spirit R was the final special-edition variant of the Mazda RX-8 original generation. Announced on 7 October 2011, it went on sale in Japan on 24 November. It retained the RX-8’s four-door, four-seat format. The manual version was based on the Type RS; the automatic used the Type E. Spirit R and the automatic Type G formed the remaining Japanese range after its introduction.

Its name recalled the final limited-edition RX-7, connecting the RX-8’s farewell edition with Mazda’s earlier rotary sports car. These are Japanese-market specifications and calendar dates, rather than a worldwide model-year designation. Mazda’s launch announcement.

Design and equipment

Shared identifying details included Spirit R badging, black lamp bezels, red brake calipers and piano-black transmission-tunnel trim. Curtain and front side airbags became standard. Paint choices were Aluminum Metallic, Sparkling Black Mica and Crystal White Pearl Mica. Mazda’s equipment announcement.

The manual combined Recaro bucket seats, Bilstein dampers, aerodynamic additions and bronze 19-inch forged wheels with 225/40R19 tyres. The automatic had black leather seats with red stitching, heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory, sports suspension and gunmetal 18-inch wheels with 225/45R18 tyres. The manual’s seats, dampers and wheels should therefore not be treated as universal Spirit R equipment. Mazda’s detailed specification.

Engine and transmissions

Both versions used a water-cooled, two-rotor RENESIS engine, listed as 654 cc per rotor, driving the rear wheels. Buyers could choose a six-speed manual or six-speed electronically controlled Activematic automatic. This identifies the shared engine architecture without implying identical output figures for both transmissions. Mazda’s powertrain specification.

Production chronology and historical significance

On 26 April 2012, Mazda announced another 1,000 Spirit R cars beyond the original 1,000-unit plan. That implies a planned allocation of 2,000, not a verified final production tally. Mazda’s production extension announcement.

RX-8 production ended at Mazda’s Hiroshima factory in Japan on 22 June 2012, according to contemporary reporting by evo. That date concerns the model’s production endpoint; it does not establish a separate last-build date for each Spirit R transmission version. Contemporary production report.

The Spirit R consequently records the closing phase of RX-8 manufacture. Its significance rests on that farewell role and its two distinct equipment packages, rather than on an unsupported claim of unique engine performance.

Related records

See the RX-8 original-generation record for the parent vehicle and the Japanese Rotary Engine 40th Anniversary Edition for another special-edition variant within the same hierarchy.

Sources and image credit

• Mazda Motor Corporation — Spirit R launch announcement, 7 October 2011.
• Mazda Motor Corporation — production extension and detailed equipment, 26 April 2012.
• Matthew Hayward, evo — RX-8 production endpoint at Hiroshima, 27 June 2012.
• Tokumeigakarinoaoshima — Mazda RX-8 Spirit R photograph, Wikimedia Commons; CC0 1.0.

Browse related records

Search Record type All typesengine (1)

1 records

• Mazda RX-8 Original Generation Spirit R 1308 cc RENESIS Rotary Engine

  The Spirit R used Mazda's water-cooled, two-rotor RENESIS in distinct manual and automatic specifications. Its 654 cc × 2 displacement identifies the engine capacity, not a single shared power rating.

  Engine