Don’t forget that the main idea behind the ND was to keep it LIGHTWEIGHT, I don’t think that a 3l with its attendant beefed-up gearbox, transmission, brakes etc., would fit that criteria.
Agreed. Mazda bailed in 1993 with a 3L V6 version, when they realised it would have to sell for more than £50k. The Mazdaspeed Turbo bombed, with cars piling up unsold on lots. The Jota MX5; besides the demo cars, how many were actually sold?
Mazda and FCA originally entered into an agreement that Mazda would produce a Alfa Romeo branded variant. That was cancelled, presumably because the curates egg Skyactiv superstructure wasn’t really up to the demands of a V6 Alfa Romeo engine.
Mazda nailed it in the ND launch video; they used genuine millennial owners, not a word said, to market the car, and straight away introduced prospective ND owners to the Cult of Miata. Then they went all corporate, and pretty much ignored the prior cars.
Great ad. But I suppose it shows too many people having fun in their individualised £2,000 cars, so why would you spend £20,000 on a new one?
Mazda Italy came out, and just said it, and hit upon the elements needed to sell a sports car.
Need some Kool Aid.
^^^^^^^ I just love the optional extras!!!
Steady Roger. The ‘optional extras’ will cost a hell of a lot more to run, be less reliable and give you a lot more trouble than any MX-5.
The story of my life, and I never did learn my lesson!
I think that the ND and the Sand interior option with the grey/black and Reflex Blue body colours is a nice combination. SWMBO did not like the black interior with Cherry coloured stitching so the Sand interior trim was chosen to appease her. However on the Z-Sport, as others have said the Cherry top makes it in my opinion a bit of a dogs dinner. I believe the cherry coloured top is going to become an option anyway and it would go much better with the black leather/cherry stitch interior trim, and very nicely with cherry colored seats if they were available. No matter how nice the “Machine Grey” is I can’t believe they produced yet another grey option. What we need is a true red, yellow, blue or decent blue metallic.
Nice reading and agree with colour comments! Sand leather works in grey and blue with black top but not cherry imo! That Z Sport needs the black and red stitching or a cherry leather! My ND is the Eternal Blue with the black which I like! But more choices would be nice! A BRG with brown hood dark tan leather and bronze wheels would be nice. A silver or lighter grey with cherry top and matching cherry leather would look cool. A snazzy blue with blue top and blue leather? Like with the Boxster you should be able to choose hood colours and leather! Power is fine as people respect the ethos of lightweight and real world useable power! The ND is like a modern Lotus Chapman designed but people want colour choice and expression like MINI FIAT and Citroen offer!
So how have the lighter colour seats worn?
Mine are excellent. There is a slight abrasion on the drivers side bolster from the previous owner but the seats on the whole are holding up well.
I agree the Z has a bit going on visually but they still stand out amongst other ND’s (I have only seen one other on the road over in Northern Ireland). I would still swap mine for something with the white leather seats though if a deal came up.
Funny how this thread aged. ffw 6-7 years and you had the excellent 30AE, but other than that? That Z sport looks pretty fine in comparison now.
All person opinion (key phrase that), but:
100th anniversary, Kizuna, sport venture all an antidote for insomnia.
The R Sport ok. Pity they didn’t offer that in the 2L too.
And the baby boomer special edition, the 35th AE maybe too boring, even for ‘special’ editions, to reach these shores?