Actually, the two cars are quite closely matched in many areas, at least "on paper". Have a look at Road & Track Magazine's data panels for each (PDF documents for the RX8 here, Crossfire here) and you'll see what I mean. The Crossfire weighs a mere 60lbs more than the RX8 and, although the Mazda makes more HP the Crossfire makes more torque. A lot more. But all the performance numbers are very, very close even though the Crossfire was tested on a much hotter day than the RX8 (93F vs 69F). In fact, acceleration, braking, skidpad, even fuel economy are so close as to be statistically insignificant. Heck, you could probably find differences similar or even greater between a pair of RX8s or a pair of Crossfires! I'm actually quite surprised that the Crossfire was 2.1 mph faster in the slalom since everyone seems to rave about the RX8s handling dynamics while the Crossfire is met with mixed reviews. R&T calls a 1 mph difference significant in the slalom, and this is such a great test of a vehicle's transitional response.

Now, don't think I'm saying R&T is the be all and end all of testing. I'm just using their info since it is consistant test protocols from model to model. Certainly hard numbers don't tell the whole story and you really need to get behind the wheel and truly flog a car to see what sort of confidence it inspires, or doesn't. Even then, it comes down to what YOU really like and want in a car. Again, I am surprised the two are so closely matched on paper.

It should be noted that the RX8 road test dates back to April 2003 when it was initially marketed as having as much as 250HP. Mazda subsequently revised this number downward to something like 238HP. I've not heard if the torque number was also revised downward or not.