Mazda RX-8 Spirit R final special edition for JDM

[FD3S88]

Hey I was lucky enough to see a white spirit R today at parkway parade when i was crossing the road. I believe this one is one of the few real spirit Rs (it actually might be the only one) left in SG. It looked completely stock. No fancy body kit. It even has the spirit R badge at the side of the car. Would have taken a pic of it but i think the owner might not like it. A check online revealed that it was manufactured in 2002 but registered in 2003. The license plate is SFB....

 

Hey bro,

 

Really lucky of you to have spotted this classic in Singapore.. It's like striking 4D, lol. A pity that you didn't take a picture of the car as the owner was present but thumbs up for respecting his privacy

 

Yes owners of Spirits Rs like to keep their cars totally stock to maintain its exclusivity and authenticity and also mainly because it is a collector's edition.. If I own one I definitely won't do any fancy stuff to it too. And yep Spirit Rs along with the Bathurst R variations are only produced in the year 2002 with production ending in August.

 

Personally I think that Mazda should not produce the RX-8 Spirit R edition as it does not have the history/attributes of the Spirit R FD to wear that badge. In other words, it is not worthy to don that badge. The RX7 Spirit R will remain as the legend.. Just my honest opinion and don't flame me pls

[Fastfive1]

Hey bro,

 

Really lucky of you to have spotted this classic in Singapore.. It's like striking 4D, lol. A pity that you didn't take a picture of the car as the owner was present but thumbs up for respecting his privacy

 

Yes owners of Spirits Rs like to keep their cars totally stock to maintain its exclusivity and authenticity and also mainly because it is a collector's edition.. If I own one I definitely won't do any fancy stuff to it too. And yep Spirit Rs along with the Bathurst R variations are only produced in the year 2002 with production ending in August.

 

Personally I think that Mazda should not produce the RX-8 Spirit R edition as it does not have the history/attributes of the Spirit R FD to wear that badge. In other words, it is not worthy to don that badge. The RX7 Spirit R will remain as the legend.. Just my honest opinion and don't flame me pls

 

Yeah it was so coincidental, i happened to cross the road and turned to see if there were any cars around before i crossed then i spotted a white car which silhouette seemed very familiar, upon closer inspection, i realised that it was an FD.

 

Well i don't think the RX8 spirit r will have any increase in power or additional features other than the spirit r badge. Well i guess this makes an official spirit r version of the rx8. There were a few RX8s wearing the unofficial spirit r badge which was based on the original rx7 spirit r badge. http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/2X-CARBON-FIBER...=item231396c6a5

[FD3S88]

Wow.. I can't believe people are fitting Spirit R badges on their RX8s.. whats more is that the RX8 Spirit R is not even released!! I see people with fake BMW Ms and Merc AMGs but this is too ridiculous. I know that most FD owners won't do this kind of degrading act even though the real Spirit R exists. Lol I guess this distinguishes between FD and RX8 owners and it comes to prove how much FD owners dislike the ugly RX8. Sh!t I think that I'm going to be flamed.

[Strudel-]

Hey bro,

 

Really lucky of you to have spotted this classic in Singapore.. It's like striking 4D, lol. A pity that you didn't take a picture of the car as the owner was present but thumbs up for respecting his privacy

 

Yes owners of Spirits Rs like to keep their cars totally stock to maintain its exclusivity and authenticity and also mainly because it is a collector's edition.. If I own one I definitely won't do any fancy stuff to it too. And yep Spirit Rs along with the Bathurst R variations are only produced in the year 2002 with production ending in August.

 

Personally I think that Mazda should not produce the RX-8 Spirit R edition as it does not have the history/attributes of the Spirit R FD to wear that badge. In other words, it is not worthy to don that badge. The RX7 Spirit R will remain as the legend.. Just my honest opinion and don't flame me pls

 

RX8 is a joke. End of story.

[Fastfive1]

Wow.. I can't believe people are fitting Spirit R badges on their RX8s.. whats more is that the RX8 Spirit R is not even released!! I see people with fake BMW Ms and Merc AMGs but this is too ridiculous. I know that most FD owners won't do this kind of degrading act even though the real Spirit R exists. Lol I guess this distinguishes between FD and RX8 owners and it comes to prove how much FD owners dislike the ugly RX8. Sh!t I think that I'm going to be flamed.

 

I think people do that in SG because there are hardly any FDs around. Fake BMW Ms that are in fact 318, 320, 323, 325 are jokes because they will never be as fast as the real M3. If a 335i is disguised as an M3, i'd still be okay with it because with some programming of the ECU, it can still be as fast. The RX8 looks fine. The part which isn't so impressive is the engine. It isn't as powerful as the FD. But if you look at it as an NA engine, it's power it pretty decent. People think it's a joke due to the fact that it doesn't meet their expectations of high horse power. People have come to expect this out of the RX8 because it's seen as the RX7s successor.

[Strudel-]

I think people do that in SG because there are hardly any FDs around. Fake BMW Ms that are in fact 318, 320, 323, 325 are jokes because they will never be as fast as the real M3. If a 335i is disguised as an M3, i'd still be okay with it because with some programming of the ECU, it can still be as fast. The RX8 looks fine. The part which isn't so impressive is the engine. It isn't as powerful as the FD. But if you look at it as an NA engine, it's power it pretty decent. People think it's a joke due to the fact that it doesn't meet their expectations of high horse power. People have come to expect this out of the RX8 because it's seen as the RX7s successor.

 

Thats why they shouldnt even make the rx8. Like how Supra is discontinued.

[FD3S88]

Even if there are hardly any FDs in sg, fitting a Spirit R badge is still quite a thing to do..

 

I agree with Strudel-, RX8 is a joke.. harsh but true. As you've said, it doesn't live up to the expectation of the FD and therefore it doesn't deserve the RX badge.

[Fastfive1]

Thats why they shouldnt even make the rx8. Like how Supra is discontinued.

 

I wished that they had continued to produce the RX7 till today. Despite first appearing 19 years ago, its looks are timeless. It still looks very modern. Its pop up headlights coupled with a nice body kit can make it seem as if the FD is smiling at you. The body shape is versatile which enables one to have tons of body kit variations. There are currently less than 20 RX7s in SG from what i gather. I guess most people got fed up trying to tune the car as the rotary engine requires lots of patience.

[Fastfive1]

Even if there are hardly any FDs in sg, fitting a Spirit R badge is still quite a thing to do..

 

I agree with Strudel-, RX8 is a joke.. harsh but true. As you've said, it doesn't live up to the expectation of the FD and therefore it doesn't deserve the RX badge.

 

Well that's the next best alternative.

[Strudel-]

I wished that they had continued to produce the RX7 till today. Despite first appearing 19 years ago, its looks are timeless. It still looks very modern. Its pop up headlights coupled with a nice body kit can make it seem as if the FD is smiling at you. The body shape is versatile which enables one to have tons of body kit variations. There are currently less than 20 RX7s in SG from what i gather. I guess most people got fed up trying to tune the car as the rotary engine requires lots of patience.

 

Yea I love them too. If the fuel consumption is better, I would probably be another proud owner of one too! Lol.

 

Well that's the next best alternative.

 

Dont say sequential twin... the 8 doesnt even have a single turbo! Seriously I would take a V6 or 8 over it anyday. The body too... totally different from the sleek and sexy fd.

Edited October 17, 2011 by Strudel-

[Fastfive1]

Yea I love them too. If the fuel consumption is better, I would probably be another proud owner of one too! Lol.

 

I think the fuel consumption issue was what mazda was trying to address with the rx8. Sadly it didn't really work. Interestingly enough, there are lots of rx8s on the roads but a lack of FDs. I won't mind owning both an FD and an RX8. One things for sure, i can fit into an RX8.

[Fastfive1]

[Fastfive1]

Yea I love them too. If the fuel consumption is better, I would probably be another proud owner of one too! Lol.

 

 

 

Dont say sequential twin... the 8 doesnt even have a single turbo! Seriously I would take a V6 or 8 over it anyday. The body too... totally different from the sleek and sexy fd.

 

People want a rotary engine, however the rx7 is out of reach so they have to settle for something less....the rx8. It has a rotary engine as well, just less powerful.

[Akiyo]

Wow.. I can't believe people are fitting Spirit R badges on their RX8s.. whats more is that the RX8 Spirit R is not even released!! I see people with fake BMW Ms and Merc AMGs but this is too ridiculous. I know that most FD owners won't do this kind of degrading act even though the real Spirit R exists. Lol I guess this distinguishes between FD and RX8 owners and it comes to prove how much FD owners dislike the ugly RX8. Sh!t I think that I'm going to be flamed.

 

Honestly, i think it's a bit too harsh that you said this..like dividing a clear line between two different mazda rotary powered cars.. Are u saying that RX7 owners are of a higher status? All RX8 owners are jokes?

 

RX is rotary experiment.. so I guess someone have to write to mazda to remove the RX from RX8 then? Both cars have their pros and cons..

 

Yes, RX7 is certainly more powerful than RX8 as it was TC and RX8 is only NA. But, its power is still pretty decent but not mind-blowing. Frankly, I prefer the RX7's looks but then RX8 is more practical, reliable and comfortable than its big brother. In the first place, RX8 wasn't designed to replace the RX7 but more of an evolved form of it. RX7 is more hardcore while RX8 is more of a softcore version.

 

My 1 cent worth. Nothing personal.

 

Let's wait for the RX9..hopefully, it will go into production.

Edited October 17, 2011 by Akiyo

[FD3S88]

Hi,

 

I agree that my comment was harsh and I'm definitely biased against the RX8. I'm not trying to say that RX7 owners are of higher status. I just have a pet-peeve against poseurs.. much less people who put the Spirit R emblems on their non-Spirit R RX8s and the ironic thing is that its not even out yet.

 

The RX8 designed to replace the RX7 and was meant to be the successor of the RX7. Of course some people think that they are totally different cars even though both utilizes a rotary engine. I guess it disappointed many people as it wasn't good enough to 'carry the balls' of the FD.. that is one of the reason why there are rumours that Mazda is going to resurrect the RX7 next year. As you've said, the RX8 is more comfortable, user friendly, reliable etc.

 

If you've been in an FD before you will notice that almost all parts are made of plastic (saves weight), cluster gauges tilted slightly down (avoid glare from sun > inspired by Mazda's LeMans car), very cramp and not very comfortable, no such thing as cupholder inside, etc. The FD was designed to be a TRUE performance car inspired by the 787B and with the attention to detail of the zero fighter designers.. that's why you see that these 2 cars are so different.

 

It's like comparing between the GTR34 and the V35. Even though the V35 is much more inferior as compared to the R34 it is still a skyline.

 

I also hope that the RX9(or whatever they name it) will be a great car.

 

Cheers

 

[Akiyo]

Hi,

 

I agree that my comment was harsh and I'm definitely biased against the RX8. I'm not trying to say that RX7 owners are of higher status. I just have a pet-peeve against poseurs.. much less people who put the Spirit R emblems on their non-Spirit R RX8s and the ironic thing is that its not even out yet.

 

The RX8 designed to replace the RX7 and was meant to be the successor of the RX7. Of course some people think that they are totally different cars even though both utilizes a rotary engine. I guess it disappointed many people as it wasn't good enough to 'carry the balls' of the FD.. that is one of the reason why there are rumours that Mazda is going to resurrect the RX7 next year. As you've said, the RX8 is more comfortable, user friendly, reliable etc.

 

If you've been in an FD before you will notice that almost all parts are made of plastic (saves weight), cluster gauges tilted slightly down (avoid glare from sun > inspired by Mazda's LeMans car), very cramp and not very comfortable, no such thing as cupholder inside, etc. The FD was designed to be a TRUE performance car inspired by the 787B and with the attention to detail of the zero fighter designers.. that's why you see that these 2 cars are so different.

 

It's like comparing between the GTR34 and the V35. Even though the V35 is much more inferior as compared to the R34 it is still a skyline.

 

I also hope that the RX9(or whatever they name it) will be a great car.

 

Cheers

 

No worries, I do agree with what you said here. I respect the FD RX7 and it is a real pure sports car. However, I also respect other people's views and do understand the disappointment of some when they saw the specs of RX8. It is not as powerful and obviously the disappointment will be greater when they compare it with its TC big brother and its rivals, such as S2000 and the Fairlady Z. But, handling wise goes to RX8 as I read from somewhere that RX8's chasis and handling is actually better and can certainly handle much more power.

 

Having said that, I still feel they are two different types of sports cars targetting at different groups of drivers and is not really fair to compare them to some extent. It is also not entirely correct that RX8 is the outright successor to RX7 as it is more by itself. The upcoming RX9 (if it ever does come out) is stated to be the successor of RX7.

 

In addition, I think Mazda was targetting at the masses when they came out with RX8. Still, RX7 is the rotary rocket and RX8 is more of a softcore sports coupe for the family which is suitable for daily usage.

 

Honestly, I really hope Mazda can continue with their Rotary heritage and produce the new RX9. When it does, it will certainly be something to look forward to and hopefully, can bring back the glory days of RX7!

Edited October 17, 2011 by Akiyo

[Strudel-]

It's like comparing between the GTR34 and the V35. Even though the V35 is much more inferior as compared to the R34 it is still a skyline.

 

Erm... No comparison there. Maybe compare R34 GTT with the V35. You cant really compare twin turbo + awd to single turbo + rwd...

 

V35 should not have the Skyline badge as well. Its like a random Z copied model to fill the gap.

 

Interestingly enough, there are lots of rx8s on the roads but a lack of FDs.

 

Because of the import rules in SG. You cannot bring any cars older than 3years old in.

 

 

Edited October 17, 2011 by Strudel-

[Fastfive1]

Erm... No comparison there. Maybe compare R34 GTT with the V35. You cant really compare twin turbo + awd to single turbo + rwd...

 

V35 should not have the Skyline badge as well. Its like a random Z copied model to fill the gap.

 

 

 

Because of the import rules in SG. You cannot bring any cars older than 3years old in.

 

I mean during the time when the RX7 was still in production, i didn't see many on the road at all.