The Mazda MX-5 Thread

2024 Mazda Miata Gets A New Limited-Slip Differential And More In JDM Facelift

The update has only been confirmed for Japan so far, but we can dream of an American release

The fourth-generation Mazda Miata is a triumph of automotive engineering. It’s small, nimble, lightweight, everything a sports car should be. But the Miata, even in its ND2 facelift, has been around for a few years now. Has the business of car engineering improved since then?

Mazda seems to think so, because it’s updated the Miata with another facelift — an ND3, if you will. The car gets a new limited-slip differential, updated tunes on the engine and electronic power steering, new headlights, and a new color. It remains to be seen, however, if any of that will come to American shores.

 
Mazda set to preview electric MX-5 with radical concept

Sleek sports coupé will be the centrepiece of Mazda’s MX-5-themed stand at the Tokyo motor show

A new concept car previewing the future of the Mazda MX-5 is set to be shown at the Tokyo motor show later this month.

Mazda has confirmed that the theme of its stand in Tokyo will be “the future created by the love of cars", showcasing its “continued commitment to the creation of products that satisfy customers' love of driving and cars”.

As testament to this ambition, the centrepiece of the Japanese manufacturer’s exhibit will be “a new concept car designed to symbolise the exhibit theme”, which a preview image suggests will be a development of the sleek two-seat coupé quietly unveiled in a financial presentation last year.

 
Mazda admits electric MX-5 is “a possibility”, mystery concept teased

Powertrain development boss gives TG the exclusive lowdown. Time to test the waters with a concept car?

Mazda is actively weighing up an electric MX-5 sports car, powertrain development boss Kato Matsue has told TopGear.com, in a move that would dramatically shift the brand’s so far cautious approach to EVs.

Having introduced just one electric car so far - the MX-30 - Mazda only has plans for two more by 2025, and it still hasn’t revealed what they will be. It’s also only committed to having a fully electrified line-up by the end of the decade, betting heavily on hybrid vehicles instead of full EVs like many of its rivals.

However, this week it’s announced that its stand at the Japan Mobility Show (yup, the Tokyo Motor Show has been rebranded) will focus heavily on the MX-5, and the concept teased above will symbolise ‘the future created by the love of cars’. So if you put two and two together…

And asked by TopGear.com last week about the idea of an electric MX-5, Matsue replied: “That’s a possibility. The MX-5’s main markets are the United States, Europe and Japan. Japan is a bit behind, but the market demand is changing towards electrification. So we need to think about that.

 
Updated Mazda MX-5 revealed in Japan, gets first ever design tweaks

Current-gen sports car finally gets a refresh… eight years after it was launched

Amid much chatter about the long-term future of the MX-5 - Mazda’s stand at the Japan Mobility Show is headlined by this RX-7-esque, rotary-powered sportscar concept after all - we bring news more relevant to the here and now.

You see, an updated model is set to land in the UK in March next year. And for the first time since it was launched in 2015, Mazda has actually bothered to tweak the exterior design this time.

Admittedly the changes are oh-so-subtle - check out the gallery above to study the new LED headlights and taillights - but given Mazda’s shifted more than 25,000 of these on our shores, there was no need to rock the boat, was there?

Inside the updated MX-5 gets a larger 8.8-inch touchscreen running Mazda’s MZ Connect system, as well as an updated instrument panel. Meanwhile the rear-view mirror is now a frameless number (yup, feels like straws are being clutched) and USB-C ports have been introduced. Score!

 
Mazda Iconic SP concept is the electric twist to the Miata legacy

Mazda's participation at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 began with the announcement of the Iconic SP, a a sports car concept with an innovative powertrain. The car looks like a hearty salute to the beloved Mazda MX-5 (or Miata, as many revere it), but it brings plenty of cutting edge tech.

Most notably, Mazda's two-rotor EV system. So the EV concept uses a twin-rotor rotary engine (reminiscent of yet another classic - the RX7 FD) powered by carbon-neutral fuel for electricity generation. An interesting take on an EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) then.


 
A wild, Cyberpunk-themed MX-5 has won the 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour

It was built in a shed in New Zealand, and will now be sold globally as a 1:64 die-cast model

The winner of the 2023 Hot Wheels Legends Tour has been announced and it’s… a 1990 Mazda MX-5 nicknamed ‘Chimera’. Though this particular MX-5 is nothing like the ones we’re used to seeing.

Put together in a shed in northern New Zealand, owner Chris Watson said that his inspiration for the car’s styling came from mixing the Cyberpunk theme with today’s Japanese ‘Kaido racer’ culture. The result is a MX-5 from a dystopian world far, far away…

To visualise this mixed personality, Chimera has been given a futuristic new rear light bar, a custom shark fin spoiler and huge 100mm wheel arches to enable the use of 15in turbofan wheels. An airbrushed finish ties the MX-5's refreshed look together.

Very little remains of the car’s underpinnings, and this becomes even more evident inside where the makeover includes a smoked-acrylic switch panel, an all-new ‘cyberdeck’ in place of the passenger seat, and LED lighting aplenty. The interior actually looks like it's been lifted wholesale from deep inside one of Microsoft’s server labyrinths.

 
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