Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Mazda MX-5 Club (2016)
We're not going to lie to you. The reason you're seeing the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata on these pages again is solely because this is the first time we're seeing the roadster displayed in a color other than the ruby shade it was first shown in.
Okay, okay, so this is the first time the Miata is being displayed at
a North American auto show other than SEMA, and we'd say that this is
the first time Mazda
is showing a US-spec model, but clearly this is a right-hand-drive car.
Either way, there's still not much to it yet, especially since Mazda is
still withholding power and performance figures.
As expected, the
ND Miata, as it is already known among the cognoscenti, will receive a
2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder and the buyer's choice of a six-speed
manual or a six-speed automatic here in the US. The 1.5-liter model
engine that had been linked to the car back in the rumormill stage will
not make it to our showrooms.
Preliminary specifications still
show the Miata measuring just 154.1 inches in length overall, with an
increased track width to 68.1 inches and a low, low overall height of
49.0 inches. Despite the larger-displacement engine and its presumably
heavier weight, Mazda is still claiming ideal 50:50 weight distribution
and a weight loss of over 220 pounds versus today's NC generation. All
of which sounds like the Miata has the right ingredients to make good on
its promised Jinba Ittai ("rider and horse as one") driving experience.
It might be just plain ol' white paint, but you can color us excited.
