WHAT do you do when you have a class leading model in your range that needs a little freshen-up? If you’re Mazda, you hand it over to a bunch of motorsport experts and then sit back and enjoy the results. reports.

Mazda has it pretty good at the moment. With its MX-5 and RX-8 models, it’s cleaning up on sales.

To stand still, however, is fatal, a fact acknowledged by the launch late last year of the latest version of the MX-5.

But what of its cousin? The RX-8 is one of the most distinctive cars on the road both in terms of design and, with its rotary engine, mechanics and has just picked up What Car magazine’s Best Coupe award for 2006 - the third year running it has won it.

So Mazda had a conundrum on its hands. With Audi’s latest TT due to be with us later this year, an upgraded RX-8 was a necessity.

From the outset, Mazda decided to leave well alone under the bonnet: if a sportier feel was to be achieved, it had to come from the handling.

So the RX-8 was handed over to Prodrive, a company steeped in sporting heritage having won six World Rally titles, five British Touring Car Championships and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The company also managed the BAR F1 team and has just been accepted back into the Formula 1 family.

The brief was to take the 231ps high-power version of the RX-8 and build on its attributes to create a special model that delivered greater driver involvement. The ride and handling was to be improved, but passenger comfort had to remain uncompromised.

And Prodrive has produced a car that ticks every one of those boxes.

The ride height has been lowered by 15mm and special Bilstein dampers and Eibach coil springs have been made to Prodrive specifications which make for flatter cornering, while specially tuned, gas filled dampers give tighter body control.

The suspension geometry has been revised to improve the steering and handling.

If it all sounds a little technical, the black and white of it is that the car handles like a dream in a car with real sports performance under the bonnet.

It feels glued to the road no matter how hard you push through a corner. It’s a car that inspires confidence, one that brings out the real driver in you and yet it is still family-orientated.

While the engine hasn’t been tweaked, the rear silencer has and produces a meatier sound.

If anything, it looks even sleeker than the standard RX-8. With 18-inch OZ alloy wheels, rear spoiler, sports door mirrors and grille mesh, it looks purposeful and sporty.

Inside the black leather seats and leather wrapped steering wheel, gear knob and hand brake lever, together with simple but smart dash fascia give it a classy feel.

There are only going to be 800 RX-8 PZs available in the UK from July 1, so you’ll need to get in early.

It will be interesting to compare the PZ to Audi’s new TT. There’s no doubting that Mazda has nudged the bar higher and Audi will need to respond.