Mazda MX-5 Superlight to debut at Frankfurt
Stripped-down speedster concept set to star on Mazda's stand at next month's Frankfurt motor showMazda has released the first official images of an MX-5-based superlight concept that will make its world premiere on September 15 at the Frankfurt motor show.
Said to capture "the pure essence of the world's most popular roadster", the concept is said to deliver improved performance, handling, fuel economy and CO2 emissions vis-à-vis the current road-going model, although the company is yet to announce any technical specifics such as power/torque outputs or kerb weight.
All the Japanese manufacturer is saying for now is that the show car takes Mazda's lightweight technology to a new level and that it was designed at Mazda's studio in Oberursel, Germany.
The company is also touting "sporty chassis settings for pure roadster driving fun", while the radically restyled bodywork dispenses with a windshield.
There's no word as yet as to whether the concept is a precursor to an eventual showroom-ready variant, but no doubt we'll know more by the time the Frankfurt motor show rolls around.
The existing (third-generation) MX-5 made its debut here in September 2005, and is generally regarded as a successful redesign of the world's best-selling drop-top, which has been around since 1989.
Purists choked on their cornflakes when a folding hardtop model known as the Roadster Coupe was released in mid-2006, but what it sacrifices in aesthetics it makes up for via improved security and refinement.
A Series II facelifted model debuted in March this year, bring a revised schnoz with more angular headlights, a larger bonnet badge, a new corporate-look five-point grille and trapezoidal fog-light surrounds. Meanwhile, the derriere gained new tail-light lenses and revised bumpers.
However, the advent of a horde of new drop-tops in recent years means the MX-5's sales volumes have diminished rapidly of late. Just 305 examples were sold until the end of July, compared with 887 sales during the same period in 2006.
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