I en pressemeddelelse i dag skriver Mazda Europe at de i dag vil præsentere det kommende chassis som den næste generation MX-5 ND vil blive baseret på. Heldigvis stadig med baghjulstræk…. Puha.. Det ville have været en sorgens dag, hvis den var blevet forhjulstrukken som onde rygter indikerede.
Mazda reveals special edition MX-5 in New York
• Mazda MX-5 25th Anniversary Edition celebrates the iconic roadster’s initial launch
• Brand new SKYACTIV-Chassis for next-generation MX-5 also on display
Leverkusen / New York, 16 April 2014. Mazda will unveil the Mazda MX-5 25th Anniversary Edition today at the New York International Auto Show, celebrating the introduction a quarter of a century ago of what would become the most popular roadster in history. The unconventional Japanese carmaker is also exhibiting the newly developed SKYACTIV-Chassis that will underpin the next-generation MX-5.
The MX-5 is the model that best symbolises Mazda’s carmaking philosophy. Initially launched in 1989, the little roadster has consistently offered the kind of fun only a lightweight sports car can, winning a diversity of fans in terms of culture, geography and demography. More than 940,000* MX-5s have been produced over three generations, and it continues to hold the Guinness World Record for best selling two-seater sports car.
The Mazda MX-5 25th Anniversary Edition brings together two-and-a-half decades of fun. Based on the existing retractable hard top model with six-speed manual or automatic transmission, it features Bilstein shock absorbers along with a Soul Red Metallic exterior accented with a black roof, A-pillars and side mirrors. The interior, meanwhile, comes in off-white leather upholstery and door trim along with a hand-finished decorative panel.
Mazda will also reveal the new SKYACTIV-Chassis destined for the upcoming fourth-generation MX-5. On display together with the engine, it will be the first adaptation of SKYACTIV Technology in a front mid-ship engine, rear-wheel drive layout. With a lower centre of gravity and the engine located closer to the centre of the car, the next MX-5 will feature its most compact configuration yet. Mazda is also aiming to reduce overall weight by more than 100kg relative to the current model while at the same time enhancing rigidity and crashworthiness.
“The original concept behind the Mazda MX-5 was so simple: To offer the pure joy of a lightweight sport car that moves precisely as the driver intends,” says Mazda Motor Corporation Chairman of the Board Takashi Yamanouchi. “While responding to increasing safety and environmental requirements over the 25 years since its launch, we have had to continually reinvent the MX-5 far beyond simple evolution to stay true to that original ideal. The history of the MX-5 is one of changing everything to stay the same: A history of innovating in order to preserve.”
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4. Next-generation MX-5
Innovate in order to preserve
The New York International Auto Show 2014 is the world premiere of the next-generation Mazda MX-5’s bare chassis. Although it is still in the development stage, this chassis with its front-midship-engine layout and rear-wheel-drive configuration, shows the direction of the new model. The principals of keeping of the vehicle lightweight, 50:50 front-rear weight distribution and low yaw inertia moment stay the same, but there is plenty that Mazda is planning to change.
Times have changed drastically during the MX-5’s 25-year history. Each successive model of the past three generations has seen slight increases in size and weight in response to social requirements as people’s awareness of safety and the environment increase. But today, demands for safety and environmental performance are exponentially higher. However, Mazda firmly believes that even while meeting these demands, the fun of being one with the car—the exhilaration felt by any driver on any kind of road, which to Mazda is the fundamental attribute of the lightweight sports car—must be maintained. To do this, Mazda considers it essential to realize a different kind of innovation that goes way beyond mere product refinement. This is clearly summed up by the maxim that indicates the direction of the next model— Innovate in order to preserve.
It goes without say that incorporating SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY was essential to meet stringent environmental and safety performance requirements while keeping the model lightweight. But beyond simple technological enhancements, Mazda also aimed to further increase the car’s appeal to human sensitivity—in other words, to realize the ultimate in Jinba Ittai exhilaration and satisfaction.
The coming model is entirely all new and incorporate all the latest advancements in Mazda’s SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. The bare chassis on display shows that while realizing the most compact configuration of any generation of the MX-5, the engine is located closer to the vehicle’s center and the vehicle’s center of gravity is lower than that of any generation to date. In addition, the development team has set a goal of reducing weight by more than 100kg while still achieving the highest standards of body rigidity and collision safety performance.
Yet while the technology changes and progresses, Mazda has an unwavering determination to keep the MX-5 faithful to its roots—to offer the driver the unrivalled pleasure of feeling completely at one with the car. To achieve this with the new SKYACTIV-CHASSIS, engineers are painstakingly researching the optimum position for the driver as one of the development goals of ‘Innovate in order to preserve.’ In this way Mazda is aiming to further evolve its signature Jinba Ittai driving experience and surpass the car’s heritage.
One look at the bare chassis fires the mind’s eye to imagine what the new MX-5 will be like, as well as anticipate the extraordinary driving pleasure and ‘lots of fun’ this new lightweight sports car will bring into the owner’s life.
