See the Mazda RX-8 convertible that never reached production

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Mazda RX-8, the company has displayed a rare convertible version at the Mazda Brand Space in Osaka, Japan.

Mazda posted photos of the convertible on Facebook, which appears to be based on the Series 1 produced from 2003 to 2008.

The vehicle had previously been used by Mazda executives at events.

The RX-8 model range was never offered with a convertible body style, with all models instead featuring a coupe body style with a set of additional, rear-hinged doors.

The convertible features a rather awkwardly high rollover bar, finished in gloss black.

There’s a pearl white exterior with black accents, while inside there’s two-tone black and red leather upholstery.

This convertible also features an automatic transmission.

By the end of its run, the RX-8 was offered in Australia with two different tunes of its 1.3-litre twin-rotor engine: one with 158kW of power and 211Nm of torque, the other with 170kW and 211Nm. Both six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions were available.

The RX-8 was the last in a long line of rotary-powered sports cars from Mazda. With the RX-8’s death in 2012, Mazda also retired its Wankel rotary engine.

Mazda recently revived the rotary with the Mazda MX-30 e-Skyactiv R-EV, which features a plug-in hybrid powertrain and a brand new rotary engine as a generator.