Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: Yes
Fashion Victims: No
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: No
Tuner Crowd: Yes
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: No
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: Yes
Poseurs: No
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: No

Also Consider:
• Infiniti G37 Coupe
• Nissan 350Z
• Honda S2000
• Ford Mustang
• A really nice used 93-95 RX-7; they're gorgeous
• Audi A5

Vitals:
• Manufacturer: Mazda
• Model tested: RX-8 40th Anniversary Edition
• Model year: 2008
• Base Price: $31,370
• Price as Tested: $32, 594
• Engine type: 1.3 liter rotary
• Horsepower: 232
• Torque: 159 lb-ft
• Redline: 9000 RPM
• Transmission: six-speed manual
• Curb Weight: 1.015 Ferrari Enzos (3,053 lb.)
• LxWxH: 174.3" x 69.7" x 52.8"
• Wheelbase: 106.4"
• Tires: 225/45 R18
• Drive type: RWD
• 0 - 60 mph: 6.6 seconds
• 1/4-mile: 15.1 seconds
• Top speed: N/A
• EPA Fuel economy city/highway: 16/22 MPG
• NHTSA crash test rating: N/A

Also see:

• 2008 Mazda RX-8, Part One

• 2008 Mazda RX-8, Part Two

Acceleration:**
Thank the Lord this was the 232 horsepower version (both motors have the same 159 ft/lb torque rating) of the RX-8, because it needs it all. Serious tail-twisting mechanical Wankelry is required to make time in this car, and it's a dog in traffic. On the numbers it might earn a third star, but persuading it to do so is more hard work than it should be.

Braking:****
Very nice. Precise, smooth, lets you know exactly what's going on. And the calipers are plain old caliper-colored, despite recent attempts by automakers to turn them into some sort of jewelry-like accessory for your wheels. ABS shows up a bit earlier than many will appreciate.

Ride:****
Should be far worse than it is for as well as it handles. You 'll know it when there's bad pavement underneath you, but you won't worry about it too much.

Handling:*****
Outstanding, gorgeous, superlative, predictable, and lots of fun. Whether you decide to steer with your hands or your right foot, this car will do exactly what you want all day. The RX-8 is a rather light car to begin with, but once it's in a groove it seems to drop about 500 pounds. A real hero-maker.

Gearbox:**
Look, our car may be an anomaly, as many RX-8 owners love their 5- and 6-speeds, but this Aisin/Mazda co-manufactured gearbox was kind of a chore. Short throws aren't much of an advantage when you feel you need a home-run swing to select the next gear.

Audio:****
Nine Bose speakers with 300 watts behind them and a fairly intuitive button cluster. Very good sound, but no MP3 player hookup.

Toys:***
The 40th Anniversary Edition comes with just the normal stuff standard, like heated seats and Homelink and so on, although it's very well-executed normal stuff. But don't forget, it has fratricide —er, Free Style doors, if those count. We think they do.

Value:***
If you want one of these, it's worth it—What else is like it? However, at $32,594, you might opt for, say, the 350z or the G37 with their increased torque and normalcy, not to mention far better fuel economy.

Overall: ****
There's no denying the RX-8 is a lot of quirk and a lot of work. But this lovable oddball has charisma by the bucketload, even if you do need bucketloads of patience, good humor, and gasoline to live with it every day. Plus more than a few pails of high-quality synthetic oil. But even with all that, I'd own an RX-8 in a second. Maybe it's because I'm a dedicated oddball and a sucker for a light, agile, fairly unique car. Maybe that should worry me, but to hell with it — I'm not yet too old to believe that lots of good moves and a few big laughs just might make up for a little drinking problem.

Also see:

• 2008 Mazda RX-8, Part One

All of our reviews are always available by clicking the Jalopnik Reviews tag in the masthead.

It's not fair to evaluate any car, let alone one that claims to have a personality, by driving it on the BQE, where thoughts of "Does this car work as intended?" are constantly being interrupted by looming Mitsubishi Fuso box trucks full of poorly secured bulk propane cylinders. Still, I was quickly forced to notice the RX-8's thank-God excellent brakes, the well-executed Grand Touring-style ride quality, and the fact that the engine was most certainly not making the sort of sounds I was used to or the kind of power I would have really liked. That engine (and the somewhat notchy shifter) were taking up far too much of my attention, I must admit, because despite my unusually high tolerance for weirdness, I was wondering if I could tolerate it under the hood.

The RX-8's 1.3-liter twin-rotor Renesis engine has a lot more horsepower than torque, which naturally means I'm revving it pretty hard. That just adds to the stress of navigating traffic — whether it's high-speed bumper-to-bumper or walking-pace crawl. Still, it's supposedly okay, because Mazda's technological centerpiece can spin to nine grand all day. But I'd be more at ease if I was sure sure how or why that was the case. As far as I can determine (please, I beg you, hold your comments) the ingenious and decidedly weird Wankel rotary engine works by using internal combustion to bounce a fat metal triangle around inside a hollow metal kidney bean, which hula-hoops around a central shaft to generate power. Very, very smooth power, actually, that builds nicely and progressively. And before I know it, the BQE is behind me, like a long illness or a badly-planned highway, and turned into some rather nice Catskills two-lane roads. The motor is thereby transformed from a gutless liability to a forgiving instrument that rewards fluid driving, which in turn forces me to try and do some of that for a change, notchy shifter and all.

Which is where I first become aware that this car just flat-out handles beautifully. The steering is about as sharp as anyone would really want in a road car, instantly responsive with feedback that stops short of becoming fatiguing. The brakes have loads of feel to balance their power. The RX-8 just sort of flows its way forward when you're doing it right, and is perfectly willing to do it all day as long as you're not asking it to do anything truly unreasonable. It's really a grand touring car, after all, and one without B-pillars in the frame, so perhaps it isn't a world-beating handler on the numbers alone. Not that anyone should care if they smile as much as I did. Hell, If the RX-8 does it all with a profound sense of weirdness, well, why complain?

Possibly you'd complain, as I did, because the oil light began coming on intermittently. Normally I'd suspect I've holed a piston — er, warped a ring — thrown a rod — stuff not possible here. Since I'd done just enough research to scare me, I knew that these marvelous mystery motors can go through a quart of oil every 3000 miles. The rotary engine may be nearly perfected in its 40th year, but it is far from conventional. The Renesis uses an oil-injection system because of the difficulty of lubricating a Wankel, for one thing, and our test car was just (over)due for some, which I duly administered. Part of Wankelry is keeping your spare quart of 5W-20 handy, a practice both oddly archaic and perhaps even romantic, but definitely unusual. Especially because you have to unsnap the flat plastic Lego/Tupperware engine cover to check, let alone add, the oil. One way or another, that's a level of involvement that few vehicles offer. Weirdness has its price.

While waiting for both the unusual machinery and my own mood to cool down, I tried out the plus-two seats in back and took notes. They seem like they'd actually be okay for a couple hours, unlike the 30-minute back seats in Mini Coopers and the like, but I couldn't see a damn thing outside the car. Which is a fine interior in good leather, accented with lots of little fat-triangle symbols of Wankelry here and there, but when I'm in a car I like to see out. I used the backseats for my duffel bag the rest of the time, getting great access through the back-hinged front-opening doors.

By the way, Mazda marketing mavens have taken a page from the F-word naming convention of the brand's sugar daddy and called these "Free Style" doors instead of "suicide" doors. Displacing a wonderfully colorful term like that in a car as quirky as this is not just spineless, it's practically a crime against culture. I briefly wonder if it would be possible to find the PR hack responsible, murder him/her, and make it look like a "Free Style."

Which is where I realize this car has won me over. It may be weird, but it's also an endearing, light, nimble, adequately powerful car that's a real pleasure everywhere but in the city, where it's a bit high-strung, nervous, and darty. Well, in the city streets, so am I. But on the roads I like, the RX-8 simply makes me feel like a much better driver than I am by letting me go fast without a billion horsepower and without scaring me to death. That will make a person overlook — perhaps even romanticize — a little weirdness.