And a shorter version of this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hNkuRJhCM8 has already been posted, but this has more detail too.
I’m really wanting to see it in the flesh now. Is it the revolution of the studio shots or the evolution of the daylight moving shots? Problem with the “press released” stuff is it’s from below knee height and not eye level as we would normally look at a car.
Oh dear - that is UGLY!
Wasted opportunity yet again.
Well I can see a certain Alfa influence, especially the rear. In fact, just change the badges and - hey presto! - a new Spyder.
I rather like it. It looks modern instead of retro and it is good that it has it’s own look (in MX5 terms) and does not try to stick to the past too much. Handling and steering will still have to be brilliant or it would disappoint, never mind the look.
With up to 180 HP (as Autocar seems to say) performance should be more then enough for a modern take on the MX5 philosophy. After all, all cars on the market are faster then they were 25 years ago, and the MX5 needs to move with the times as well. If it was “only” as fast as before it would probably put a lot of prospective buyers off. 140 or 180 Bhp options seems to be a good spread to cover roughly the same range as before.
On looks and published concept (smaller, 100 kg lighter) I’ll give it 9 out of 10. With 180 Bhp and great handling/steering (assuming both are delivered) it will be a blast and sell like hotcakes 
Well, price also will matter obviously…
Evo reckons the mk4 will have
130bhp 1.5 litre
165bhp 2.0 litre
…or…
possibly a diesel !!!
My thoughts are “Is the mk4 going to offer much of a performance improvement over my 2.0 Mk3.5 ? Would selling a mk 3.5 and buying a mk4 be worth it?”
EVO says
“Though exact details remain unconfirmed, it looks like a 130bhp 1.5-litre and 165bhp 2-litre four-pot will be available, whilst rumours of a potential future 1.5-litre diesel option seem to have gathered momentum. Power will be sent to the rear wheels through a manual six-speed ‘box, Mazda confirming a manual gear lever was the only option for a proper driver’s car.”
Funny how every other article says that a new auto box will be an option. I wish Mazda would make their minds up as I want to buy a paddle shift and if the mk4 isn’t going to have one, then the GT86 would be the obvious choice (and one can get £4k off list price these days).
I don`t expect the exhaust set up at the rear is the final result, but at present it looks a bit weak.
Could certainly do without the ugly and dazzley ( to other drivers ) LED day time running lights.
I’d wait and see what Mazda definitively say rather than Journalists interpret…
Blame the EU for the DRL… must say though now that they are becoming more common it gets harder to pick out the cars without them in a line of traffic, especially at this time of year as the light starts to fade earlier, more of a case for cars without them fitted to drive with dipped headlights.
Absolutely correct.
However, having owned an 1840cc Mk1( painfully slow & thoroughly enjoyable) & a Mk2.5 Sport (a bit quicker but less enjoyable) for nigh on 8 years (still have them both) I formed the view years back that ( especially the Mk2.5 Sport) that the chassis was always begging for more power. The popularity of latter day MazdaSpeed turbos is hardly surprising. It gives the whole package a shot in the arm and exploits these cars best attribute…handling. As I said previously, my good friend’s 260+ BHP BBR MK3.5 is a revelation over standard fare, but not in an OTT aggressive way. The whole car springs to life in spirited drives, and serves to underline the excellence of the basic concept, but is capable of pottering to Tesco unobtrusively.
If the new car was given additional power over 165 bhp in 2 litre form, it would only be keeping a level playing field relatively speaking given current outputs & handling of basic family saloons. Not to beat everything off the lights, but it would be nice not to have to rev them to oblivion to make decent progress as well. We all know there are two “methods” of moving a car at reasonable pace…peaky screamers, decent gobs of torque, or an attempt to blend both hence the (joker in the pack) VVT I have.
I think my problem might be fond memories of owning a Courtney Turbo Monza 3ltr and a Vulcan/Burton engined/ Scorpion chassis sprung Capri 2.8i !!!
I guess a run in an S/C BBR with their suspension package would change a few views.
The GT86 weighs in with about 200bhp, and pulls much better from low revs than a Mk3.5. The main difference, though, is that the throttle response is much better. The extra power didn’t (at least to me) translate into better acceleration.
I think that the Mk4 needs to come in with about 220 to put it in the right bracket - cheap and slow enough not to make it an insurance headache, smooth enough not to scare the less spirited driver, but fast enough to show a clean pair of heels to a boxter/z4/TT*. While it isn’t a supercar, it needs to be able to compete with a modern euro hothatch (e.g. a Renault Clio). Otherwise, why would anyone bother buying one when you can get a Mk3.75 for much less?
* the smaller engined versions.
It OK
The team from BBR will be at the Rally with their complete line up of products for the 5 so you can find out about all their latest developments.
More like Global Standards. The Japanese spec car had them. The US is out of step on this with the ROW.
The MSM turbos were not that standard. I remember visiting a US dealer at the time, and surprised to see he had more MSMs than regular cars on the lot, including one stripped of its 17" Racing Harts. The sales person explained standard cars were easy to sell, the MSMs not so easy. The same happened with the Le Mans; Mazda couldn’t shift them. One of the better known LMs was brought, after the dealer gave it a partial repaint to tone down the graphics, and discounted down to the price of a standard BBR. I note the last Jota is for sell at a heavily discounted price. As a new car, the MX5 lacks credibility when its stuffed with go-faster bits, because suddenly its being held up to comparison with different competition. The standard car occupies its own niche, and since 2005 has had no effective competition, whether from the Kappa twins or anything from MG.
The reason why anyone would prefer the ND over the NC is plain to see at the launch; the NC3 all of a sudden looks horribly dated, and heavy looking, in a way that never affected the NA or NB1 (the NB2 facelift was less successful).
New pedals
Well I think it looks fabulous and will be ordering one as soon as the books open. It is a modern interpretation of the Mx5 ethos and a design fit for the 21st century. my Mk 3 already looks dated and so yesterday…
I suppose discounts on the list price might be hard to come by for the first few months. What happened with the previous new generations?
Hmmmm nice! - looks like the typical type of sports car a ladies hairdresser may consider.
Can`t wait to see if they do include a Diesel version - finally an MX5 with stump pulling torque that you may really be able to turn the boost up on.
What am I saying!
Del.
I guess I knew I was on the owners site when one of the first comments in this thread about the brand new car - was about the cupholders - so took the opportunity to grab a picture of them for you.
They are an essential part of the car’s US marketing, but they appear to be very much an afterthought, I hope they remove, but I suspect they might just flip forward so that the Navigation DVD can go in the drive?
Why is that there? well not having a glovebox appears to be partly the reason.
