Motors - Mazda MX-5 MkIV

Mazda Mx-5 Mk IV 

Mazda is one of my favorite brands. I’ve owned several and the company has stallwarrtly stuck to technologies and ideas that everyone else has long given up on, the Wankle Rotary engine and the sports car.
Recently the company had appeared to be breaking. The RX-8 had been axed with no word on an RX-9. They had begun talking to Toyota about buying their hybrid drivetrain and the MX-5 had been cutting a very lonely and exposed figure as the only conventional sports car left. Toyota’s FT-86 is likely to become a hybrid and VW announced a diesel sports car.


However Mazda have made several announcements that allowed me to breathe again. Firstly they ARE working on an RX-9 and it WILL be a rotary, possibly a turbo charged version of the Renesis generation rotary engine.
This meant that just the MX-5, with it’s conventional engines and drive train was left to ‘fix’. The worry is worse when you consider the fact that the engines used in the MX-5 are a little poor on fuel economy and efficiencies. Terrible, in fact. Could it be that the evergreen MX-5 was about to be killed off by the Green Brigade?

No. Actually. Mazda have announce that there will be a fourth generation MX-5. Firstly it’ll be styled using the ‘Nargare’ design language that is based on wind and water flow and inspired the fully working, Furai rotary racing car.

It’s safe to assume that the Mk IV MX-5 will use 1.6 and/or 1.8 litre versions of the Sky G engines due in 2012/13. This and the Sky D Diesel engines are going to reduce emissions by 30% by 2015 over the levels in the current generations of petrol and Diesel. Short story: The Sky D will utilise two stage turbo charging. Both engines will use ultra low friction components, direct injection, and highly efficent piezo-electric injectors as well as being matched to Mazda’s SKY-Drive, the dual clutch gearbox being developed by the company.


So how does this help the belegured MX-5? Well from what we know, companies who are playing catch up are generally getting the dual clutch gearboxes right. They help enormously with efficiencies when in Auto’ and are perfect for performance cars as well.
If the Sky G engines turn out to be as efficent as Mazda claim they will be, and they have claimed the Sky gen engines will be well under the current emissions level for tax exemption, then the MX-5 will continue to be the sports car everyone can own.
Brilliant. All sorted then, right? Not quite. There is one other problem with the MX-5. Weight. The Coupe/Convertable 2.0l Sport model sits at a rather portly 1132kg, the Mk II weighed in at just 1040kg.However, fear not because Mazda have realised this and have set out to fix this as well.

In an effort to get back to basics, Mazda have looked at the original Mk I MX-5 and dug out the original 1000kg target weight, dusted it down and handed it to the design team. A tall ask when you consider the current car has all the mod-cons you expect in a more luxury car; sat-nav, climate control, traction control, multi CD-Changer, that heavy tin-top etc.
But seeing as how the MX-5 is still a massive seller, the effort will surely be worth it. The old-fashioned, out-dated model of the traditional sports car may yet survive in the form of the MX-5, a car the brought the tradiontional sports car model back.

And what will it look like? Well we don’t know yet, but this is a rendering produced for Autocar on what it could look like. Rather striking wouldn’t you agree?

MD