Mazda MX-5


The Mazda MX-5 is a lightweight two-passenger roadster sports car manufactured and marketed by Mazda with a front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. The convertible is marketed as the Mazda Roadster or Eunos Roadster in Japan, and as the Mazda MX-5 Miata in North America, where it is widely known as the Miata.
Manufactured at Mazda's Hiroshima plant, the MX-5 debuted in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show and was conceived and executed under a tightly focused design credo,, meaning "oneness of horse and rider". Widely noted for its small, light, technologically modern, dynamically balanced and minimally complex design, the MX-5 has frequently been called a spiritual successor to 1950s and '60s Italian and British sports cars, prominently the Lotus Elan, which had been used as a design benchmark.
Generations were internally designated with a two-letter code, beginning with the first generation, the NA. The second generation,, launched in 1998 for MY 1999; followed by the third generation in 2005 for MY 2006, and the fourth generation in 2015 for MY 2016.
As the best-selling two-seat convertible sports car in history, the MX-5 has been marketed globally, with production exceeding one million, as of early 2016. The name miata derives from Old High German for "reward".

Generations and overview

The MX-5's first generation, the NA, sold over 400,000 units from May 1989 to 1997—with a inline-four engine to 1993, a engine thereafter —recognizable by its pop-up headlights. The second generation was introduced in 1999 with a slight increase in engine power; it can be recognized by the fixed headlights and the glass rear window, although first generation owners may opt for the glass window design when replacing the original top. The third generation was introduced in 2006 with a engine and slightly larger body size, with a Power Retractable Hard Top variant added in 2007. The fourth generation was introduced in 2015 with a new SKYACTIV-G engine and a body size similar to the first generation model, with a Retractable Fastback variant added later that year.
Launched at a time when production of small roadsters had almost come to an end, the Alfa Romeo Spider was the only comparable volume model in production at the time of the MX-5's launch. Just a decade earlier, a host of similar models—notably the MG B, Triumph TR7, Triumph Spitfire, and Fiat Spider—had been available.
The body is a conventional, but light, unibody construction, with front and rear subframes. The MX-5 also incorporates a longitudinal truss, marketed as the Powerplant Frame, providing a rigid connection between the engine and differential, minimizing flex and contributing to responsive handling. Some MX-5s feature limited slip differentials and anti-lock braking system. Traction control is an option on NC models and standard on ND models. MX-5s weigh slightly over one tonne. For example, in 1994, the very rare optional Spec C package included the desirable limited slip differential.
With an approximate 50:50 front/rear weight balance, the car has nearly neutral handling. Inducing oversteer is easy and very controllable, thus making the MX-5 a popular choice for amateur and stock racing, including, in the US, the Sports Car Club of America's Solo autocross and Spec Miata race class series, and in the UK, the championship. Raddatz and Otten won the AASA Australian Endurance Championship in 2011.
The MX-5 has won awards, including Wheels Magazine’s Car of the Year for 1989, 2005 and 2016; Sports Car International’s "best sports car of the 1990s" and "ten best sports cars of all time"; 2005–2006 Car of the Year Japan; and 2005 Australian Car of the Year. The Miata has also made Car and Driver magazine's annual 10 Best list 17 times. In their December 2009 issue, Grassroots Motorsports magazine named the Miata as the most important sports car built during the previous 25 years.
In 2009, English automotive critic Jeremy Clarkson wrote:

Design genesis

In 1976, Bob Hall, a journalist at Motor Trend magazine who was an expert in Japanese cars and fluent in the language, met Kenichi Yamamoto and Gai Arai, head of Research and Development at Mazda. Yamamoto and Gai Arai asked Hall what kind of car Mazda should make in the future:
In 1981, Hall moved to a product planning position with Mazda USA and again met Yamamoto, now chairman of Mazda Motors, who remembered their conversation about a roadster and in 1982 gave Hall the go-ahead to research the idea further. At this time Hall hired designer Mark Jordan to join the newly formed Mazda design studio in Southern California. There, Hall and Jordan collaborated on the parameters of the initial image, proportion and visualization of the "light-weight sports" concept. In 1983, the idea turned concept was approved under the "Offline 55" program, an internal Mazda initiative that sought to change the way new models were developed. Thus, under head of project Masakatsu, the concept development was turned into a competition between the Mazda design teams in Tokyo and California.
The Californian team proposed a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, codenamed Duo 101, in line with the British roadster ancestry, but their Japanese counterparts favored the more common front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout or the rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
The first round of judging the competing designs was held in April 1984, with designs presented on paper only. The mid-engined car appeared to offer favorable qualities, although it was known at the time that such a layout would struggle to meet the noise, vibration, and harshness requirements of the project. It was only at the second round of the competition in August 1984, when full-scale clay models were presented, that the Duo 101 won the competition and was selected as the basis for what would become the MX-5.
The Duo 101, so named as either a soft top or hardtop could be used, incorporated many key stylistic cues inspired by the Lotus Elan, a 1960s roadster, including the door handles, tail lamps and grille opening as well as engine appearance and center console layout. It is known that Mazda design studio acquired a vintage Lotus Elan as a source of inspiration for the designers. International Automotive Design in Worthing, England was commissioned to develop a running prototype, codenamed V705. It was built with a fiberglass body, a engine from a Mazda Familia and components from a variety of early Mazda models. The V705 was completed in August 1985 and taken to the US where it rolled on the roads around Santa Barbara, California and got positive reactions.
The project received final approval on 18 January 1986. The model's codename was changed to P729 as it moved into the production phase, under head of program Toshihiko Hirai. The task of constructing five engineering mules was again allocated to IAD, which also conducted the first front and rear crash tests on the P729. While Tom Matano, Mark Jordan, Wu-huang Chin, Norman Garrett, and Koichi Hayashi worked on the final design, the project was moved to Japan for engineering and production details.
By 1989, with a definitive model name now chosen, the MX-5 was ready to be introduced to the world as a true lightweight sports car, weighing just.
Although Mazda's concept was for the MX-5 to be an inexpensive sports car, at introduction the design met strong demand, with many dealers placing customers on pre-order lists and several dealers across North America increasing the vehicle markup.

Jinba ittai

Mazda used a design credo across the four generations of the MX-5's development: the phrase, which translates loosely into English as "rider and horse as one body ".
With the first generation of the MX-5, the phrase was developed into five specific core design requirements:
The first generation MX-5 was introduced in 1989 and was in production until 1997. Upon its release, the car won numerous accolades such as Automobile Magazine's 1990 Automobile of the Year and Car and Drivers 10Best list from 1990 to 1992.

Second generation (NB)

The second generation MX-5 was unveiled in 1997 and put on sale in 1998 for the 1999 model year. While it kept the same proportions of its predecessor, its most noticeable change was the deletion of the retractable headlamps, which no longer passed pedestrian safety tests and were replaced by fixed ones.

Third generation (NC)

Taking design cues from the 2003 Mazda Ibuki concept car, the third-generation Mazda MX-5 was introduced in 2005 and was in production until 2015. This generation introduced a Power Retractable Hard Top variant that features a folding mechanism that does not interfere with trunk space. During its release, the third generation MX-5 received several accolades such as the 2005-2006 Car of the Year Japan Award and Car and Drivers 10Best list from 2006 to 2013.

Fourth generation (ND)

The fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 was unveiled in 2014 and has been in production since 2015. An updated model was introduced in 2018 and is visually identical to the pre-update model. It has been designated as series "ND2" due to an engine upgrade to and several other improvements around the car. The ND generation introduced a Retractable Fastback variant that features a rigid roof and buttresses that give the silhouette a more coupé-like appearance than the soft top convertible. The fourth generation MX-5 has received several accolades such as the 2015-2016 Car of the Year Japan Award, the 2016 World Car of the Year Award, Car and Drivers 10Best list from 2016 to 2019, and the Red Dot Best of the Best Award in Product Design 2017. In addition, the car is the basis for the Fiat 124 Spider and Abarth 124 Spider.

Production numbers and details

In 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records declared the MX-5 the best-selling two-seat sports car in history, with a total production of 531,890 units. The 250,000th MX-5 rolled out of the factory on November 9, 1992; the 500,000th, on February 8, 1999; the 750,000th, in March 2004; the 800,000th in January 2007, and the 900,000th in February 2011.
On April 22, 2016, Mazda broke its Guinness World Record by producing its one millionth MX-5. The one millionth car rolled off the production line and was shown in select cities, where the first 240 fans of the vehicle present could physically sign it before it went to the next destination.

Awards and recognition