Getting in a spin over the RX-8

It’s hard being the youngest sibling, particularly when your big brothers and sisters are blessed with brains, brawn and beauty, so pity the poor Mazda RX-8. Revealed at the North American Auto Show in 2001, it was born into the shadow of the world-beating MX-5, with the extra weight of trying to live up to the RX-7 sitting heavy on its shoulders.

Throw into the mix the fact that it quickly developed a reputation for oil and fuel thirst in alarmingly similar measure – with the inevitable unreliability when the former was neglected – and it seemed doomed to failure. 

Yet it would soldier on for a decade in production (eight years in Europe because it failed to meet emissions regulations), to the tune of nearly 200,000 cars, developing a minor cult following for the twin joys of its Wankel rotary engine and innovative barn doors.

As a classic, with the rigours of the daily grind consigned to history – not to mention the more attentive ministrations of most classic owners – it starts to make a lot more sense. 

Not least because it’s brilliant fun to drive. Picture an MX-5 with four seats, a roof and the ability to safely rev to 9000rpm and you’re pretty much in the right ballpark. There’s the same lightness of controls, the same agility (and firm ride), and the same wonderfully short, notchy gearshift.

Wring its neck – and get your changes right through the six-speed ’box – and it’ll hit 62mph from rest in 6.4 secs, on its way to 146mph. The chassis is a joy, too. When these cars were new, I worked for Autocar and there was always a fight for the keys to our long-term RX-8 for track days because it was like a beginner’s drift car, the combination of a long wheelbase, light weight (1380kg), near-perfect weight distribution and that linear, high-revving turbine of an engine making it capable of lurid slides without ever feeling nervous or twitchy.

And the best news is that these magical little cars are dirt cheap. A quick scan of the classifieds yielded a very tidy 50,000-miler with full service history for just £2495. Admittedly you won’t find one of the 400 special 40th Anniversary models for that, this one kindly on loan from Mazda’s Heritage fleet. 

The 2008 limited edition was launched to mark the 40th anniversary of the Cosmo Sport 110S, Mazda’s first rotary-engined car, with the high-output 228bhp version of the twin-rotor 1.3-litre Renesis motor (as opposed to the 190bhp standard car). 

But I’m not sure you’d need it: I’m not wild about the stick-on spoiler and the slightly ’90s-minicab trim, and any RX-8 will offer plenty of entertainment at a fraction of the cost. 

Just make sure you get the engine checked out before you take the plunge…