Mazda RX-8 Original Generation Type RS 1308 cc RENESIS Rotary Engine
The Type RS paired Mazda’s 654 cc × 2 RENESIS rotary with a six-speed manual transmission in the refreshed Japanese RX-8 range introduced in March 2008.
The Type RS engine application
The Mazda RX-8 Type RS used a water-cooled, twin-rotor RENESIS engine driving the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Mazda specified 654 cc per rotor, giving the 1308 cc total used in this record’s title. The Type RS joined the refreshed Japanese range on 10 March 2008, based on the six-speed-manual Type S. This is an engine application within the original RX-8 generation, rather than a separate engine family. Mazda’s Japanese launch announcement.
RENESIS design and manufacturing origins
Mazda began RENESIS production at its Ujina plant in Hiroshima, Japan, on 29 January 2003. That date marks the engine family’s production launch, not the introduction of the later Type RS application.
Developed for the four-door, four-seat RX-8, RENESIS combined naturally aspirated operation with side exhaust ports and Mazda’s Sequential Dynamic Air Intake System. Mazda emphasized compactness and low weight as important to the car’s packaging, alongside improvements in fuel economy and emissions compared with its previous rotaries. These are family-level design characteristics; the original launch document does not establish the later Type RS’s individual output rating. Mazda’s RENESIS production announcement.
Changes for the refreshed RX-8
For 2008, Mazda described new water and oil pumps, improved durability and stronger acceleration feel at low and middle engine speeds. Lower six-speed-manual gear ratios also improved initial acceleration. A temperature-dependent tachometer red zone helped discourage excessive engine speed when cold.
These were refreshed-range changes, not evidence of an exclusive RS engine tune. The Japanese Type RS’s manual specification should be kept separate from automatic RX-8 applications and overseas ratings. Mazda’s description of the revisions.
Chronology and relationship to Spirit R
The Type RS application belongs to the later phase of RX-8 development. In October 2011, Mazda identified the six-speed-manual Type RS as the basis for the manual Spirit R, scheduled to go on sale in Japan on 24 November. The automatic Spirit R instead used the Type E as its basis.
Mazda stated that the Japanese lineup would then consist only of Spirit R and automatic Type G grades, with RX-8 production scheduled to end in June 2012. This establishes the Type RS’s place in the transition to the final range, but does not identify the exact assembly date of the last ordinary Type RS engine or car. The 2008 introduction and 2011 lineup transition are calendar dates, not overseas model-year designations. Mazda’s Spirit R announcement.
The related Spirit R 1308 cc engine record covers that subsequent application separately. Historically, the Type RS connects the refreshed manual RX-8 with its final Japanese special edition.
Specification scope
This record covers the Japanese-market Type RS application. The cited launch material establishes displacement, rotor count, cooling, transmission and the principal refresh changes. It does not provide a Type RS-specific power-and-torque table, engine production total or exact manufacturing cutoff; those figures are therefore not assigned here.