Whether you are or aren’t a fan of Wankel power, you can’t deny that the sound a pissed-off, ready to rock rotary is one of the most violent, shrieking sounds this side of a jet afterburner. They sound like chainsaws on nitrous, with the exhaust held up to a PA system stolen from a punk rock show. This particular RX-8 is wrangling 1600 horsepower from a three-turbo rotary that is hooked to a Liberty five-speed. Watch as this thing launches off of the line: it hits as hard as you would expect it to, but about the time second gear comes into play, the nose comes up and the car seems to lunge even harder!
That car sounds absolutely ludicrous at idle. I also like the 2nd-gear wheelstand it does at 2:35.