Mazda Motor Corporation’s four-door, four-seat sports car - the RX-8 – has reached a significant production milestone: number 100,000 rolled off the Ujina No.1 final assembly line near Mazda’s corporate headquarters on 29th September, 2004. This important milestone was achieved 18 months after production began in April 2003.

Reaching 100,000 units in 18 months compares favourably with Mazda’s other famous sports car, the open-top, two-seat MX-5. With the MX-5, which has been recognised by the book of Guinness World Records as the world’s best-selling convertible sports car, only 17 months were required to reach number 100,000.

As an entirely new type of sports car that features distinctive sports car styling and excellent performance, the Mazda RX-8 was launched in Japan in April 2003 and is now sold in over 20 countries around the globe. Cumulative sales volume as of the end of August 2004 was over 23,000 units in Japan, over 29,000 units in the US, in excess of 18,000 units in Europe and more than 2,200 in Australia.

Mazda’s RX-8 is powered by the award-winning, naturally aspirated RENESIS engine. The compact, high performance rotary engine is without a doubt Mazda’s spiritual soul and shortly after being launched in 2003 was named “2003 International Engine of The Year.”