The Spirit R is a limited edition of the RX-8 built to celebrate the end of the RX-8's production. The name "Spirit R" was based on the final limited edition of the RX-7, the RX-7 Spirit R. It is the fastest and most expensive RX-8 ever made. Limited to only 1,000 cars and exclusively sold in Japan, with the car having such a limited run, the Spirit R was mainly bought by car collectors and die-hard enthusiasts. Mazda claims that more than 40 percent of their buyers were car collectors.

The car had two transmission choices: a 6-speed manual transmission and a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Features exclusive to the RX-8 Spirit R were bi-xenon headlamps, 4 piston front and rear red brake calipers, high performance Bridgestone Potenza summer tires, a 7.1 channel 300 watt Bose premium audio system with AudioPilot noise cancellation technology, and piano-black transmission tunnel trim.