Next MX-5 "will be radical"

[1SICKLEX]

Next MX-5 "will be radical"

Mazda’s design boss has told Autocar that the company is planning a radical rethink of the MX-5.

“The next MX-5 needs to be a big step,” Lauren Van den Acker said. “The last one was too conservative and we can’t do another car like that. We need to make it more dramatic and give it some balls.”

However, Van den Acker admitted that nothing would be done to change the MX-5’s core character. The fourth-generation car, due to appear in around 2012, will still be a no-nonsense small rear-drive roadster, albeit probably lighter and more fuel-efficient than the current model.

Another senior Mazda designer told us that while there has been lots of internal debate about the future of the company’s iconic roadster, no final decision has yet been taken on what it will look like. “Last time round [designing the current car] we came up with lots of radical proposals and we may reignite one of those,” said our insider. Another Mazda designer admitted that the intention was for the MX-5 to stop being completely different from the rest of the line-up, hinting that the likes of the Kazarai concept car will influence its design.

In the meantime the current MX-5 will have at least one facelift before it is replaced. Leaked patent documents showed recently that the forthcoming visual makeover is a very minor one. It will make its official debut at the Paris motor show in October.

Chas Hallett

[redrumracer]

dear god please let it have more power.

[Revmaynard]

Yea, more power or a rotary powerplant would be cool.

[ranger250x]

wasnt the miata originally supposed to have a V-6? hince the rather large engine bay that only housed a 1.6L. the 2.5L V-6 ford powerplant would be a welcome addition

[redrumracer]

Yea, more power or a rotary powerplant would be cool.

na the rotary's can stick to the rx series, just more power, and possibly bring the turbo back.

[JITB]

wasnt the miata originally supposed to have a V-6? hince the rather large engine bay that only housed a 1.6L. the 2.5L V-6 ford powerplant would be a welcome addition

u mean the 2.5 Kl motors are mazda. The 2.5 Duratec motors are ford, and they arent being made in 2.5 form anymore. 3.0 - 3.5 only.

but it would be nice if the miata got a updated version of a klze. The renesis rotary would be perfect for the miata i think. But it would just intefere with the Rx8.. too much. The 2.3 direct injection turbo motor would be nice..

[ranger250x]

u mean the 2.5 Kl motors are mazda. The 2.5 Duratec motors are ford, and they arent being made in 2.5 form anymore. 3.0 - 3.5 only.

but it would be nice if the miata got a updated version of a klze. The renesis rotary would be perfect for the miata i think. But it would just intefere with the Rx8.. too much. The 2.3 direct injection turbo motor would be nice..

i was still thinking that the 2.5 duratech was still in production. silly me

[redrumracer]

i was still thinking that the 2.5 duratech was still in production. silly me

I think he was saying the klze was the one that comes in 3.0 and 3.5 but not the 2.5 anymore.

[OneSlow5pt0]

well RX-8 is on its way out and then the new 16x engine is coming

its would be nice to have a rotary miata but that will never happen,big point of the miata is something that gets good gas mileage

but im sure mazda wont let us down

[JITB]

I think he was saying the klze was the one that comes in 3.0 and 3.5 but not the 2.5 anymore.

naw the kl motors arent in anything anymore.

The duratec motors are still being used in 3.0-3.5

[Cool Cat Racing]

The miata will always be a 4 cylinder. It was designed that way and will always be that way. The car was never designed to have anything else. It was made to be like the great british 4 cylinders from back in the day. Hell they even added a detent ball in the shifter to make it notchy like the older cars since people said it was too smooth. When you're making a rear wheel drive car you're going to have a wide engine bay with a small motor because you don't have anything else to put there. The suspension had plenty of room so why put something there just to add weight. I'm glad the car will get smaller and lighter again. The NC's killed the greatness of the miata. As for power, I say leave it alone. No one was really complaining about the NB's and the MS5. 200hp would be nice and easy on the current motor and would be fine if they lost a little weight of the car. Maybe in the redesign they'll leave a little indentation for the fuel pump in the fire wall and they'll end up with an MS5 again with the turbo 2.3L in it.

[NoRotor]

would be fine if they lost a little weight of the car.

I thought I read that the weight increase was only 12lbs between NB to NC.

[JITB]

I thought I read that the weight increase was only 12lbs between NB to NC.

i heard or read something along those lines also.. doesnt the NC perform pretty well?

[Thighs]

i heard or read something along those lines also.. doesnt the NC perform pretty well?

yeah its not slow at all. its about 20lbs heavier and has ~50 WHP more than the NB, so its no worse of a car at all. they just took away alot of the simplicity of the car with the updated interior and the ungodly number of autotragics produced. theres something like 6 manual na/nb miatas to 1 auto, and i dont know the exact ratio of the NC but have you been to the dealership?

[JITB]

yeah its not slow at all. its about 20lbs heavier and has ~50 WHP more than the NB, so its no worse of a car at all. they just took away alot of the simplicity of the car with the updated interior and the ungodly number of autotragics produced. theres something like 6 manual na/nb miatas to 1 auto, and i dont know the exact ratio of the NC but have you been to the dealership?

yea the older manual miatas outsold the autos by a lot.. its hard enough to find a actual mazda dealership....lol so naw i havent.

[redrumracer]

yeah its not slow at all. its about 20lbs heavier and has ~50 WHP more than the NB, so its no worse of a car at all. they just took away alot of the simplicity of the car with the updated interior and the ungodly number of autotragics produced. theres something like 6 manual na/nb miatas to 1 auto, and i dont know the exact ratio of the NC but have you been to the dealership?

yea but the nc's arent quick enough imo. hell the nb's arent fast enough imo although i am aware that "thats not what they are made for"

[JITB]

yea but the nc's arent quick enough imo. hell the nb's arent fast enough imo although i am aware that "thats not what they are made for"

i actually think that miatas are fast enough in their current form. I just dont like the FSDE 2.0 motor too much. Id love to see a 2.3turbo, and the 2.0 fs as a base. but the miata has never had multiple motor choices... 200hp, NA 2.3 would be nice..

[Thighs]

yea the older manual miatas outsold the autos by a lot.. its hard enough to find a actual mazda dealership....lol so naw i havent.

lol not really... sutherlin mazda @ the mall is the closest one i know of. there may be one near gwinnett place too, but idk. theres WAYYYY more auto nc's than manual.

yea but the nc's arent quick enough imo. hell the nb's arent fast enough imo although i am aware that "thats not what they are made for"

yeah, as far as being a "fast" straight line car, boost is the only way to go. miatas are made for curves and dont work very well out of their element.

one thing you can do though, is get door handles. +50rwhp, guaranteed

but seriously, i/h/e will turn it into a completely different car.

[takume]

i like the NC only because it got the retractable hardtop. Other than that I will stick with my NA for sure. So, I am looking forward to see the 4th gen miata.

[Cool Cat Racing]

The published curb weight of an NC is about 2500lbs depending on options. My leather package NB with a real roll bar, supercharger, butterfly brace, and a few other weight adding items and a half a tank of gas weighed 2396 on average on our scales and verified at several tracks and SCCA nationals scales. Sorry if I have to disagree with the 20lbs difference but I can assure you its more than that. The car also feel much heavier because of the suspension setup. That's nothing the aftermarket can't fix but they shouldn't have to. A stock NA or NB was incredibly fun to drive and would outhandle the NC's easily. Every car company has their hiccups, look at the R33 GTR's, but as long as they bring it back all will be fine.

[Ran]

Yea, more power or a rotary powerplant would be cool.

Why would you put one of the worst engines ever in one of the greatest sportscars ever?

i like the NC only because it got the retractable hardtop.

I thought that was going to be a cool feature until I saw how hideous it looked with the top up. lol

The next Miata needs to return to it's roots. It doesn't need more power. Miatas DO NOT need power. It's need to be shrunk in size, lose some weight, and and return to it's roots as a fun, underpowered, nimble roadster. That's what made the Miata great.

[Cool Cat Racing]

Except for the early NA's I wouldn't even say it was underpowered. I could easily rotate mine and power out of mountain corners even before it was boosted. I would love to see a new car with about NB weight and feel but with the 2.3L motor from the 3's. Plenty of power, light, and nimble. Balance is the key and the NC's just don't have the same feel and soul as the first two had.

[Ran]

Except for the early NA's I wouldn't even say it was underpowered. I could easily rotate mine and power out of mountain corners even before it was boosted. I would love to see a new car with about NB weight and feel but with the 2.3L motor from the 3's. Plenty of power, light, and nimble. Balance is the key and the NC's just don't have the same feel and soul as the first two had.

The NA was the perfect driver's car. The fact that it was underpowered was great because you were always pushing the car as hard as you could and it would respond wonderfully. That, to me, is what makes a Miata.

The NB had like 20 more horsepower but added a lot of fat so it didn't really balance out. I, personally, had a Mazdaspeed so I had the power but it wasn't necessary.

The NC is a good car, it's just not a good Miata. I've driven a handful and have had my fun but I'll agree that it definitely doesn't have the spirit that the previous models had.

[metalman]

For purity and simplicity, and a real sports car experience, nothing really beats the NA.
The best thing Mazda could do is return to their roots with the Miata, lose weight and the trinkets. Putting a shiettya$$ rotary in one or allowing the Miata to become a bloated over priced car like they did with the RX7 would be the WORST scenario.

[JITB]

So the consensus is we want


with
2.3


and the mazdaspeed miata with the DISI 2.3 turbo!