2008 Mazda RX-8 - Americas Best Handling Car Comparison - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

We test the 2008 Mazda RX-8 for Americas Best Handling Car comparison competition.

Transcript

00:00 Next up is Mazda's RX-8, representing the rear-drive sports car class.

00:09 Its Wankel engine doesn't make a lot of torque, but it's very lightweight and has almost perfect

00:12 weight balance.

00:13 That, along with the R3 Sport Package, which brings forged wheels, sticky tires, and a

00:18 nice stiff suspension, will make it look pretty good for the handling test.

00:21 Let's go see how she does at Mazda's Laguna Seca Raceway.

00:46 Now we've moved up into the rear-drive cars, first up the Mazda RX-8 with 232 horse, 1.3

00:52 liter rotary engine.

00:54 Your first rear-drive laps today, how did it feel?

00:58 In the pure sense of a sports car art, that car is number one for me so far.

01:03 I mean, I felt like it was just a glove on my hand.

01:07 I could just put it right where I wanted and drive the living daylights out of it.

01:13 Really, the RX-8 put a smile on my face.

01:17 Extremely well balanced.

01:18 I could enter the corner with a lot of speed and the car would just, in a balanced way,

01:24 take the speed and scrub it down to what felt like a very high speed at the corner apex.

01:30 Just a really enjoyable car.

01:32 Extremely nice shifter.

01:34 Very tight, quick, proper shifter.

01:37 It's not a very powerful car, especially in this group, but what a pleasure to drive.

01:43 Now I saw you coming out of 11 sideways.

01:45 It looked like a pretty easy car to drift, was it?

01:47 Yeah, it was.

01:48 A little too much entry speed, especially in second gear, and it'll get sideways.

01:52 But at the same time, wow, what fun to drive a car that's unfettered by weight and a lot

01:58 of electronic controls.

02:00 We had the stability control turned off.

02:02 It was a real pleasure.

02:04 I found it really an easy car to drive and an easy car to place right where I wanted

02:08 it, almost like a scalpel.

02:10 Although I wouldn't say that the road feel was on the order of the best Porsches, the

02:15 effect was in more of a classic sense of a lighter car that is more one with the driver.

02:24 Some of the more powerful cars, it's almost like riding a horse or a bucking bronco, even,

02:29 although not that bad in this group.

02:31 Whereas the RX-8 is, it's really more like the wings have been bolted right to your arms

02:36 like Icarus and you're a part of it.

02:39 I like that feeling very much.

02:41 Is this rate as your favorite car here thus far today, handling wise?

02:45 Handling wise, yes.

02:46 I miss the power.

02:47 I love the gearbox.

02:50 Handling wise, I've got to say, by far the most satisfying car to drive through the corners.

02:55 A couple more interesting entries to come.

02:57 Stay tuned.

02:58 [music]

2008 Mazda RX-8 - Americas Best Handling Car Comparison

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