News: Mazda confirms early September worldwide reveal for fourth-gen MX-5
Countdown to one of the year's most hotly anticipated new car launches begins now
ONE OF the most anticipated reveals of the year is drawing closer with the news that the next-generation Mazda MX-5 will be unveiled in Barcelona to an invited audience on September 3-4, and simultaneously in Japan and the US.
The most important people, the enthusiasts and buyers who will decide whether the new model will be a success, will get their chance to see the fourth-generation MX-5 two days later on September 6. Both occasions will celebrate the sports car’s 25th anniversary.
So far, all we’ve seen of the car is its chassis which features Mazda’s weight-saving Skyactiv technology, already found in models such as the CX-5 and new 3. The car maker has confirmed the engine will be mounted behind the front axle and closer to the car’s centre than ever before, while the MX-5’s centre of gravity will be lower; all good news for those who value good handling.
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The new car will be around 100kg lighter, which means entry-level soft-tops could come in at under 1,050kg, assuming they are not loaded with too much new equipment.
So that’s the dynamic side of the car sorted; what we won’t know until the silk sheets are raised from the presentation models and the dry ice clears is what the new MX-5 will look like. All Mazda’s chief designer Peter Birtwhistle will say on that score is that the new MX-5 will be “a tight, edgy little car that will be clearly identifiable as an MX-5.”
Here’s hoping he’s revived some of that Mk 1 spirit.
