Turn, Turn, Turn – Winding up my Wankel

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I finally replaced my 2006 Mazda 5 the insurance company totaled with with a 2009 Mazda RX8. This little beauty only has 28,500 miles, and has a 1.3 liter Renesis/Wankel rotary engine that pumps out 238 HP. The car is solid, perky, responsive and really fun to drive. It’s not as fast as Laurie’s Speed 3, but now we have two red Mazda sports cars. Laurie took these photos of me in the RX8 with her iPhone in the Credit Union’s parking lot. The car was halfway in the shade of the building so the color is a little off.

I got a great deal on the car from the owners of Pho 79, a Vietnamese restaurant located at 2007 Candelaria NE, for those of you who live in Albuquerque. We haven’t eaten there yet, but Tom, the owner, gave me a cup of Vietnamese iced coffee after we finished the deal (the coffee was wonderful). I’m planning on going there for lunch later this week. Pho 79 got a great review by “Trip Advisor” that called it a “hidden gem.”

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5 thoughts on “Turn, Turn, Turn – Winding up my Wankel

  1. Love the RX8 and the rotory motors! I used to get around in an RX2 Capella and an RX3 (as old cars of course). So fast off the mark and could outrun most V8s back in the day, unless you blew those damn weak seals.

    • We’ve driven Mazdas for years, but this is my first with a rotary engine, and possibly the only rotary Mazda I will own. Mazda quit making the rotary engine last year.

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