2014 Mazda MX-5 Miata Rendered, Detailed

tristatez28lt1 · Jul 3, 2012

Couldn't find a next generation Miata/MX-5 thread. If there is one please merge.

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-mazda-mx-5-miata-rendering-and-info-news

You can trust that Mazda won't screw up the next-gen MX-5.

JULY 2012

BY JUSTIN BERKOWITZ

MULTIPLE PHOTOGRAPHERS

What It Is: Mazda’s fourth-generation MX-5 roadster, in CGI form. Our artist has borrowed the Kodo design language that Mazda has used on recent concepts; shoppers won’t remember its name, but Kodo, we think, is distinctive enough. Otherwise, the fundamentals for the next MX-5 stay the same: two seats, folding roof, rear-wheel drive. This one will be lighter than the current car, cutting 200 to 300 pounds for a new-and-improved total of about 2200.
Why It Matters: BMW has the 3-series and Mercedes-Benz the S-class. For certain companies with soul, there are one or two core products that have to be perfect and true to the brand. Mazda’s is the MX-5 Miata, and the company knows it. Not only is the MX-5 the bestselling roadster of all time, it’s the halo car for the firm’s Zoom-Zoom image. It has been and remains one of the benchmarks for driving purity at any price.
Platform: New rear-wheel-drive architecture has been developed, and for the time the MX-5 will be the only Mazda to use it. But the platform will be shared outside the company, with Mazda and Fiat entering into an agreement that will see these underpinnings beneath an Alfa Romeo roadster. (We suspect the Alfa may be called Spider.)
Powertrains: Odds are good that the MX-5 will get a small four-cylinder engine—about 1.3 liters—turbocharged to make roughly the same 167 hp made by the current larger engine. Mazda will plaster Skyactivbranding all over the engine and the car’s advertisements, which refers to the company’s suite of strategies to efficiently produce power using direct injection and high compression ratios, while also reducing internal friction and rotating mass. This will not be the first factory-turbocharged MX-5; that crown goes to the Mazdaspeed Miata offered briefly during the car’s second generation. Mazda’s recent experimentation with ahotter, more-powerful MX-5 presages an optional sportier version of the next-gen car, too, we think.
Competition: Ford Mustang V-6, Hyundai Genesis coupe, Mini Cooper convertible, Mini Roadster, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ.
What Might Go Wrong: Edgy new styling could scare off the single twenty-somethings and empty-nesters who drive MX-5 sales. Mazda’s expedition into turbocharging country could work out brilliantly—delivering great power, refinement, and economy—but inadequate execution could detract from the quintessential roadster.
Estimated Arrival and Price:
Sometime in late 2013 or early 2014. Prices should start at around the same $25,000 as today.

Levi68 · Jul 3, 2012

But what if FIAT sells Alfa Romeo to VAG ? Then there will be no more Alfa Romeo 4C on which the Maserati GranSport would be based, and the Mazda MX-5 will no more share its platform with the Alfa Romeo Spider what would increase costs and thus Alfa Romeo will return to the US under VAG and not FIAT. Looking forward. I'd like an Alfa rebadged Cayman. Regarding the MX-5 I would like them to make a Coupé version if there will be no RX-7.

purplehenk · Jul 3, 2012

tristatez28lt1 said: ↑

Levi68 · Jul 30, 2012

I like this render of MX-5 Coupé, the BZR rival.

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2014 Mazda MX-5 Miata Rendered, Detailed

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