Introduction
Mazda has not sold a rotary engine in the U.S. since the RX-7 was discontinued in 1995. This changes with the introduction of the successor to the RX-7—the RX-8. There have been a number of concept cars that have been shown over the last few years, including the RX-Evolv, RX-01 and ultimately the RX-8 in concept form which debuted at the 2002 North American International Auto Show. The first RX-8 was produced on February 17, 2003 at Mazda’s Ujina #1 Plant in Hiroshima, Japan, with sales beginning in the spring.
