In November 2011, Mazda announced the end of the RX-8 with the introduction of a special edition model, limited to 1000 production units. The demand is so high that Mazda decided to make an additional 1000 cars.

The Spirit R, which is sold exclusively in Japan, is available in both manual and automatic transmissions. The six-speed manual model is proving to be more popular, accounting for 66 percent of the sales. Color choices are limited to aluminum metallic, sparkling black mica, or crystal white pearl mica.

The second round of the Spirit Rs will be similar to the first production run. This means that they will include special features such as Recaro seats, 19-inch alloy wheels with bronze paint, a special aerodynamic kit and a re-tuned suspension with Bilstein dampers.

The end of production of the RX-8 also signifies the end of the rotary-powered Mazda for now. Fans of the Renesis rotary engine need not feel sad as Mazda officials have hinted that it may make a comeback in the future.

As of the end of March 2012, Mazda has produced a total of 192,094 units of the RX-8 since it went into production in 2003.