Mazda RX-8 Original Generation True Red Style 1308 cc Rotary Engine
The Japanese-market True Red Style paired a water-cooled 654 cc × 2 rotary engine with either a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.
Engine identity and application
The True Red Style was a Japanese-market RX-8 special edition launched on 2 March 2006. Mazda specified a water-cooled, two-rotor engine of 654 cc × 2: the arithmetic total is 1308 cc. Its price table applies this displacement to both rear-wheel-drive transmission versions. Mazda’s edition announcement.
This engine application belongs beneath the True Red Style variant within the original RX-8 generation.
Two transmission applications
- Six-speed manual: based on the Japanese RX-8 Type S.
- Four-speed automatic: based on the Japanese RX-8 Type E, using Mazda’s Activematic transmission.
These applications share the stated displacement; that alone does not establish identical engine specifications. The edition announcement supplies no power or torque ratings, so neither version receives an inferred output figure here. Factory application table.
RENESIS engineering
The RX-8’s RENESIS was a naturally aspirated twin-rotor engine with side intake and exhaust ports. Mazda combined this arrangement with a Sequential Dynamic Air Intake System and electronic throttle control. Its compact dimensions supported the RX-8’s front-midship layout, with the engine’s substantial mass behind the front-wheel centreline, while accommodating four occupants. These are RX-8 engine-family characteristics, rather than special tuning claims for True Red Style. Mazda’s Japanese RX-8 launch documentation.
For a separate application within the same generation, see the Japanese base-grade 1308 cc RENESIS record.
Production background and historical context
Mazda began RENESIS engine production at its Ujina plant in Hiroshima, Japan, on 29 January 2003. The engine was developed specifically for the four-door, four-seat RX-8. Mazda presented its side-exhaust-port design and intake system as means of improving rotary-engine performance, fuel economy and emissions. This establishes the engine family’s manufacturing origin, rather than a separate production start for True Red Style. RENESIS production announcement.
True Red Style’s announcement describes colour and equipment changes, without identifying a new engine design. Its significance here is an edition-specific application of the established rotary powertrain. The March 2006 date is a Japanese sales launch, not a model-year designation or a documented production interval; an edition-specific end date is not established by that release. True Red Style announcement.