However, due to the lack of conveniences and user-friendliness, coupled with the high price tag and declining interest in sports cars and coupés at the time, Mazda decided to withdraw the RX-7 from most major markets except Japan.

Endeavoring to rejuvenate itself around this time, partially with financial and management assistance from its new owner Ford, Mazda developed a new line of high-quality cars with desirable styling and driving dynamics superior to competitors, beginning with the Mazda6 and followed by the Mazda3.

However, a "skunkworks project" engineering team within Mazda kept the development of the 13B-MSP alive using an elongated MX-5 chassis known internally as "gokiburi-ka", or "cockroach car" translated to English, eventually catching the attention of management, which was by then heavily influenced by Ford.

Development of the 13B-MSP advanced and eventually led to the RENESIS name debuting along with the RX-EVOLV concept car which began to bear semblance to the production version of the RX-8 with the "freestyle" rear suicide doors.

The production version of the RX-8 closely resembles this vehicle save for minor trim details, and "Job 1" began in February, 2003 at Mazda's Hiroshima plant in Japan.

The manual gearbox model uses a carbon fiber composite driveshaft to reduce the rotational mass (momentum of inertia) connected to the engine.

While underpowered in comparison to the final variant of the RX-7,[citation needed] the RX-8 is considered its successor as Mazda's rotary engine sports car.

The four-port standard Renesis was rated at 191 hp (194 PS; 142 kW) and was coupled with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission.

[10] With exhaust ports now located in the side housing, the Renesis had improved fuel efficiency and emissions rating over the 13B-REW employed by the preceding RX-7, thereby making it possible to be sold in North America.

[12] Based on the Type S and tuned by Mazda's in-house division Mazdaspeed, the car included both mechanical, suspension, and aerodynamic improvements over the standard RX-8's.

Mechanical and suspension improvements included a new performance exhaust system, upgraded spark plugs, grounding kit, lightweight flywheel, re-balanced eccentric shaft, performance brake pads, stiffer anti-roll bars, four point front strut tower brace, rear strut tower brace, as well as a set of height and damping force adjustable coil-overs.

The NR-A kit, sold through Mazda Anfini and other dealers throughout Japan, brings the RX-8 up to specification in terms of eligibility for participation in the one-make Party Race sanctioned by JAF.

In 2005 and 2006, Mazda introduced the first special edition of the RX-8 called "Sports Prestige Limited" in Japan and "Shinka" in North America.

The most significant mechanical change were slightly revised Bilstein shocks and suspension cross member injected with urethane foam to improve ride quality.

These include a choice of two exclusive exterior colors (Copper Red Mica 400 and Phantom Blue Mica 100), unique dark silver 18 × 8J alloy wheels, a polished aluminum Rotary crest on the front air dam, dark silver bezel headlamps, sports door mirrors, polished aluminum side air outlet fins, Rotary branded B-pillar trims, chrome exhaust surrounds.

Inside, the Evolve features unique stone leather and alcantara sporty seat trim, plus black leather-wrapped steering wheel, gear knob and hand-brake lever.

Only available with a six-speed manual, it featured custom 10-spoke alloy wheels supplied by Italian F1 team supplier OZ Racing in "Dark Silver" finish, mirrors developed to reduce drag, front and rear black mesh grilles, and a rear spoiler to provide more stability at higher speeds.

The model incorporated the top specification features of the standard RX-8 with the 9-speaker Bose sound system, sand beige colored leather seats, more piano black accents on the interior, and came with the same 13B Renesis rotary engine.

The 'Nemesis' features unique paint colors and interior trim, plus an exclusive accessory package, at a cost that was at the time £330 less than the model on which it is based – when similarly specified.

Based on the standard 189 hp (192 PS; 141 kW) version of the Mazda RX-8, it included a unique stone leather seat trim interior and came with a five-speed manual transmission.

Two exclusive colors were available, Copper Red Mica and Stormy Blue Mica, each Nemesis also comes with a polished aluminum Rotary crest on the front air dam, polished aluminum side air-outlet trims behind the front wheel arches, special B-pillar trims with a Rotary crest and 'Nemesis' badging.

Like other standard 245 hp (183 kW; 248 PS) RX-8s, the Nemesis has front fog lights, heated front seats, electrically operated driver's seat, climate control air conditioning, 9-speaker BOSE premium audio system with 6-CD auto-changer, plus a black leather-wrapped steering wheel, gear knob and hand-brake lever.

Exclusive sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein dampers were added along with an enhanced urethane foam injected front cross member intended to improve steering feel.

The North American (USA and Canada) version came in Metropolitan Grey Mica exterior color with the interior clad in special Cosmo Red leather.

In the United Kingdom, this edition was limited to 400 cars which came in two exclusive exterior colors – Metropolitan Grey Mica or Crystal White Pearlescent.

The rear suspension geometry was revised for better handling, and the final-drive-gear ratio on manual transmission cars was shortened from 4.444 to 4.777 for improved off-the-line performance.

[citation needed] Ignition coil packs, which suffer reduced performance over time and leads to unburnt fuel and oil that eventually clogs the catalytic converter, was not upgraded from series 1 RX-8.

Due to higher usage cycle that is two to three times higher in Wankel compared to Otto cycle, ignition coil packs on RX-8 can degrade much sooner than Piston engines using similar hardware, and cause unburnt fuel to reach the catalytic converter, clogging it and cause engine overheating leading to side seal springs failure.

The automatic transmission model included 10-way adjustable power leather seats with lumbar support and 2-position memory in black with red stitching, and 18-inch lightweight gunmetal grey BBS wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza summer tires.

[31] Ryan Eversley won both races of the 2010 SCCA World Challenge Mid-Ohio Grand Prix in the touring car class.