Let’s get one thing straight right from the outset. The PZ is not a versatile car and makes no pretence at being so. Instead, it is an ultra-focused vehicle aimed at those who might otherwise have plumped for a Nissan 350Z or an Alfa Brera but appreciate the RX-8’s four seat practicality. While both of the aforementioned models have chalked-up rave reviews for their handling prowess, the RX-8 PZ makes them both appear a little flabby.You won’t get any increase in engine power if you opt for one of the 800 PZ models that Mazda are making. The engine is the same 228bhp ‘high power’ unit that’s found in the standard RX-8. Instead, what Prodrive have done is concentrate on making the car feel a little more special as an ownership proposition and tightening up the suspension to a point where casual users will find this car intimidatingly firm. The suspension has been lowered by 15mm all round, making the wheels look shoehorned into the arches.To reduce roll when cornering and pitch when accelerating and braking, special Bilstein dampers and Eibach coil springs are fitted. These are seriously high-end parts and with spring rates increased by 60 per cent, you’ll know you’re not in a standard RX-8 the moment you hit a pothole. It’s likely that down a typically poorly surfaced B-road that the more supple set up of a standard RX-8 would be preferable and probably quicker, but on smooth tarmac, the limits of the PZ are appreciably higher. The gas-filled monotube dampers give tighter body control, allowing for sharper, more aggressive changes of direction. The suspension geometry has also been revised to make the steering feel sharper. Unsprung weight is further reduced by lightweight alloy wheels. Somewhat surprisingly, Mazda haven’t chosen to adopt an aggressive ‘Cup’ specification tyre, instead utilising standard RX-8 rubber.
Priced at £25,995 on the road, the RX-8 PZ is offered in a choice of either Brilliant Black or metallic Galaxy Grey. These stealth mode colours reflect the car’s darker personality very well and are set off by the unique 18-inch OZ wheels. Other exterior changes include a rear spoiler, revised door mirrors, grille mesh inserts on the front and rear bumpers, that lowered suspension, a revised exhaust system and both PZ and Prodrive badging. Peer inside and you’ll spot black leather seats, with corresponding hide trim on the steering wheel, hand brake and gear lever. The rear silencer gives a noticeably naughtier exhaust note than the standard car.

The RX-8 PZ comes from very successful stock. Since its launch in 2003, more than 17,000 ‘cooking’ RX-8s have been snapped up by UK customers, keen on the idea of coupe style handling with family hatch-style practicality. The four door layout may attract the casual observer but as anybody who knows anything about Mazda’s RX series of cars knows, the real Unique Selling Proposition lies under the bonnet in the form of a compact rotary engine.Rather than use a conventional internal combustion engine in which a number of pistons pump up and down in their respective cylinders to provide the motive power, a rotary engine like the one used by Mazda, instead adopts a completely different engineering solution. Two triangular rotors spin in ellipsoidal chambers which, as any student engineer will attest, is a very elegant theory. Why? Because constantly spinning a rotor is a far more efficient use of energy than the wasteful, reciprocating motion of a piston accelerating from 0mph at the end of its travel up to around 40mph and then decelerating to 0mph at the other end of the cylinder, all in the space of a hundredth of a second.
That’s the theory. In fact, rotary engines have a reputation for being thirsty, dirty and difficult to maintain. Mazda claim to have addressed these issues with the latest RENESIS engine found in the RX-8, the powerplant winning the 2003 Engine Of The Year award in fact. As well as the traditional virtues of rotary engines, namely their smooth revving nature, their low weight and their flat, broad spread of torque, Mazda have ironed out many of the bugbears. The efficiency of the engine has been improved by a fundamental redesign of the way air and fuel are pulled into the combustion chamber and the way that exhaust gases are ported out. Cleanliness has been improved as well, with unburnt hydrocarbons being recycled back into the chamber for another torching. As regards durability, Mazda have worked hard to exorcise the demon of rotor tip wear using high tech materials and having a clear understanding of the thermodynamics at work in the engine. The result is an engine that can rev to 9,000rpm without ever feeling strained. It settles to a hum at idle but then just zings straight up to the redline with turbine-like smoothness.

If anything, this RX-8 feels a good deal livelier than its rest to 60mph showing of 6.0 seconds would suggest. Fuel consumption still isn’t what you’d describe as stellar, although it’s certainly a good deal less thirsty than the RX-7. Mazda quote an average of 24.3mpg but in reality, it will require a very disciplined right foot to return such figures over the course of an ownership spell as the RX-8 PZ is one of those cars with an infectious nature that tempts you into frequent right boot to the bulkhead progress.
The RX-8 PZ isn’t going to be for everyone and I’d strongly recommend you try before you commit to buy. If a stiffer, more aggressive RX-8 is what you’ve been waiting for, your prayers have been answered here.