Mazda Zooms 100,000th RX-8 Off Production Line in Only 18 Months

- Important Production Milestone Achieved for Award-Winning Sports Car -

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 5 -- Mazda Motor Corporation today announced the production of the 100,000th Mazda RX-8 at its Ujina No.1 final assembly line in Hiroshima, Japan. This important milestone was achieved only 18 months after production began in April 2003.

"Mazda always has been brave enough to follow the road less traveled, and we broke the mold by producing a four-door, four-seat sports car," said Robert T. Davis, senior vice president, marketing and product development for Mazda North American Operations. "Reaching such a major production milestone so early in the vehicle's production cycle proves that if you build, it they will come."

Reaching 100,000 units in 18 months compares favorably with Mazda's other famous sports car, the convertible, two-seat MX-5 Miata. The MX-5 Miata, which has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's best-selling convertible sports car of all time, took only 17 months to reach the 100,000 production milestone.

The Mazda RX-8 is powered by the award-winning RENESIS rotary engine and shortly after being launched was named "2003 International Engine of The Year." The compact, high performance rotary engine is Mazda's spiritual soul and the hallmark of the company's engineering ability.

The RX-8 and its RENESIS engine have won more than 37 important automotive awards around the globe to date, including Japan's "2004 RJC Car of The Year," the Japan Automobile Hall of Fame's "2003-2004 Most Excellent Developer Award," the 2003-2004 Japan Car of the Year's "Most Fun Award," Car and Driver's 2004 "10Best Cars" in the United States and Wheels magazine's "2003 Car of The Year" in Australia.