As much as we love the FD, I always wondered what could have been.... the FE, the generation of RX-7 that could have been. As unique as the RX-8 was as the next rotary vehicle, its 4 door looks were a bit unique. Rumor after rumor about the next RX-7 based off that platform emerged, but it never came to be.

There was plenty of drawings based upon Mazda program reports in the auto press, but no real spy shots of mules from what i recall. So... Just playing around, i kinda imagined the FE.... basically, an RX-8, but shortened about 8 inches, and as a 2 door 2 seat coupe:




and yes, my editing skills are weak. Below is an RX-8 photo, for comparison.



I want to build it.

 

Well, you are in luck- Mazda built it.

They just realized what a pile the Renesis was and put a piston engine in it.





NC Miata is the 2 seat sports car that is a shortened RX-8. You can just swap a rotary in.

 

Hmmmmm....i never knew that!

for S&G, i'll have to look up details on real-world rotary conversions.

 

Yes do that.

There was a Red NC Miata that was 13B-MSP swapped using all stock Mazda pieces from the RX-8 so it looked factory stock.

It is that swap-able.

 

FEED has an NC Miata shop car with a renesis in it.

 

to give you some ideas, the NC miata is built from the Rx8 chassis (not the other way around), so things like the Rx8 brakes/coilovers/swaybars literally bolt right in, or were the same in the first place.

the NC puts the power plant frame on the wrong side, but it uses the same basic transmission as the SII Rx8, so since the engine mounts are the same between the NC and Rx8, the 13B MSP is literally a bolt in deal.

wiring on the other hand is probably pretty crazy, if say you had to smog the thing.

i have wanted to shorten the Rx8 since it came out though, it has some vague elements of the Ferrari super fasts and 250TdF, and shortened it would be more apparent

 

Lots of good info in this thread, food for thought indeed. Hmmmmmm

 

I personally love the long wheelbase driving characteristics of the RX-8 combined with its improved mass centralization compared to the FD.

Shorten it? Nah.

But I have thought about just using the backseats (2 seater) and filling in the extra space with rotors.

If you use the rotary to T56 adapter and a Corvette "transaxle" T56 you can stack 3 complete coupled rotary engines in a line behind the original rotary engine.

Yes, that is a super budget 8 rotor RX-8 and I want to build it for kicks and hillclimbs.

 

yeah somehow the Rx8 is magic, and the NC is a turd. well we know some of it, the NC rear suspension tops out, and that leads to really weird handling. its an odd thing too, the Rx8 has like a foot of droop travel, the shock guy must be about as good at measuring as i am!

i am just tantalized by the prospect of dropping like 600lbs of weight, 230hp/2400lbs would just be epic

 

Yep, the weight drop is tantalizing... And getting rid of the back doors too.

 

The RX-8 is an FE, just not what people were expecting.

The RX-8 chassis is amazing, but very difficult to explore on the street. Speeds get too high. If it had more power, you could play with the rear end at low speeds, but it doesn't have that. In a racing situation, it pushes all the right buttons.

It makes me a bit crazy imagining an RX-7 version of the 8. The RX-8 is already fast for its power/weight. A smaller more powerful version would give the big dogs a run for their money.