Hey folks -
I just read about Mazda Japan launching their new MX-5 website for the new Mk3.5. I’ve visited the site - lots of great pics and about 3-4 videos as well. Here’s the link to the website:
http://www.roadster.mazda.co.jp/
If you want to know where to find the videos are, there are 9 buttons on the left hand side of the screen. The videos can be found by pressing the 5th, 6th & 7th buttons - each of those has more buttons with a video at the last button for each of those 3 areas of the site.
Granted, all of the text and dialogue is in Japanese, but it’s a very cool site - worth exploring.
Cheers,
Bryan
and you can “make” your own mk3.5 at the bottom left tuning factory link
it might be a bit hard to use if you cant read any japanese but try to put some effort on it and you will end up making an expensive 5!
surely if you have too much time you can spend your whole evening trying to get the right colour and trim
sorry to say but imo mx5 is getting more and more like an S2000
Is it just my lack of understaning, or is the new car only available with a 2L engine
The “Mk 3.5” or NCE-FL, is that, a mildly facelifted variant of the existing model, so same size as the Mk3 (NCE). I suspect the rear lights will become a popular upgrade for owners of the outgoing model.
Crash regulations mean that there is an increased pressure to increase the size of the car, to give added protection to the occupants, and to give added protection to pedestrians (ie. the Mk3’s bluff frontage, and one reason why GM have so far failed to sell the Solstice model in Europe; inadequate clearance between the engine top and bonnet).
Improved materials and design mean the present model, while being bigger; the Mk3 was only 22lbs heavier than the Mk2.5, yet is still quicker and more economical, and has more bells and whistles.
The Elan, as nice as it was, was only slightly better than the fiberglass “Specials” of the 60s, in a crash. Bits fell off it all the time.
Mazda has missed yet another trick in not launching an Ibuki hybrid variant; I suspect the initial model line-up was dictated more by a cash-strapped Ford than anything else (now no longer involved with Mazda). Time will tell as to whether the decision to demarcate the rht and soft-top variants is the correct approach. I can see the MX5 struggling against more upmarket cars, but we can expect some competition at the cheaper end to emerge maybe in 2010-2011 from the new MG roadster. Depending on whether Lotus survives that long, there might be a new Elise sometime as well.
New intake resonator looks interesting; the car now comes with go-fast sounds. Plus maybe a California 3 will become available. Plus increased redline.
No different to putting a sportier sounding exhaust on a car with no performance benefits, surely? Or adding a noisier induction kit? Do we consider any owners who do that that sad?
Mazda have identified that a huge part of driving enjoyment is aural, and that the standard Mk3 engine/exhaust noise is a bit lacking, and found a simple/clean/effective/weightless way to address that and please their customers. Very clever rather than sad.
I like it - and what if it reminds some of the S2000, that’s no bad thing.
The Mk1 was designed around a Lotus anyway.
Non-publicity shots of the face lifted model:
BBS wheels now an option:
Tuned intake, aka cowel induction, which people used to pay big money for on their NAs:
Recaros
Umm. Well, if we did, we’d certainly be too polite to say so. [:$]
Anyway, do you suppose the revised front end will mean the European version won’t still have to be jacked up 30mm to pass pedestrian safety regs?