Mazda has made the decision to cancel the production of its RX-8 rotary engine sports car due to falling sales and stringent global emissions standards. Production in Hiroshima, Japan, ended in early July and global sales of the car will conclude later this year.
The RX-8 and the three generations of the RX-7 that preceded it have long been the foundation the brand’s fun-to-drive aura. The car’s high-revving 1.3-liter, twin-rotor rotary engine produces 232 hp at 8,500 rpm which is a big punch in a relatively small package. Mazda sold just 1,134 RX-8s last year, a 49 percent decline from 2009. Sales through July of 2011 were down another 21 percent. Mazda pulled the RX-8 from the European market last year after the car failed to meet local emissions standards. Without volume from Europe, Mazda couldn’t justify selling the RX-8, a Mazda source said.
