Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata to get SKY-G power, 50+ mpg?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/11/2011-mazda-mx-5-miata-to-get-sky-g-power-50-mpg/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/11/2011-mazda-mx-5-miata-to-get-sky-g-power-50-mpg/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/11/2011-mazda-mx-5-miata-to-get-sky-g-power-50-mpg/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Mazda MX-5 Miata Superlight Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Are big changes ahead for the Miata? As a blog that's gone on record as adoring the current iteration (and all previous - Ed.) of Mazda's quintessential sportscar, that notion is a bit worrisome. Still, it sounds as if the company is going in the right direction. According to Inside Line, the 2011 MX-5 Miata will shrink in size a bit with an expected curb weight of just 2,200 pounds. That low weight should pay big dynamic dividends as well as boost efficiency, but the big news on that front will be an all-new engine.

Powering the next-gen Miata will reportedly be either a 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter version of the four-cylinder SKY-G engine (G as in gasoline) that Mazda showed off earlier this year at the Tokyo Motor Show. With an expected power rating near 150 horsepower, the current model's power-to-weight ratio would remain intact (the 2009 model boasts 167 hp), and Mazda reportedly predicts the downsized mill will return in excess of 50 miles per gallon in the little sportscar. Consider our interest piqued.


Gallery: Mazda Superlight Concept

01-mazda-superlight-concept-press02-mazda-superlight-concept-press03-mazda-superlight-concept-press04-mazda-superlight-concept-press05-mazda-superlight-concept-press

[Source: Inside Line]

2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata to get SKY-G power, 50+ mpg? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2011 Mazda Miata2011 Mazda MX-52011 Mazda MX-5 Miata2011MazdaMiata2011MazdaMx-52011MazdaMx-5Miatamazdamazda miata superlightMazda MX-5Mazda MX-5 MiataMazda MX5mazda mx5 miataMazda SKYMazda SKY engineMazda SKY enginesmazda sky gMazdaMiataSuperlightMazdaMx-5MazdaMx-5MiataMazdaMx5MazdaMx5MiataMazdaSkyMazdaSkyEngineMazdaSkyEnginesMazdaSkyGMiatamx-5mx5Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:56:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19274287/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/12/11/2011-mazda-mx-5-miata-to-get-sky-g-power-50-mpg/19274287/article-detail.xml 19274287 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/12/mx5-superlight_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/12/mx5-superlight.jpg <![CDATA[Rendered Speculation: 2012 Mazda MX-5 could go lighter and smaller]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/18/rendered-speculation-2012-mazda-mx-5-could-go-lighter-and-small/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/18/rendered-speculation-2012-mazda-mx-5-could-go-lighter-and-small/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/18/rendered-speculation-2012-mazda-mx-5-could-go-lighter-and-small/#commentsFiled under: ,

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Mazda MX-5 (or Miata) has shown remarkable resilience to the bloating trends of age. While other automakers tend to make new cars bigger and fatter with each successive generation, notwithstanding the optional retractable hardtop version, the Mazda roadster has remained relatively compact and light on its feet. But while the MX-5 Superlight concept due to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show takes the current Miata into ever lighter territory, reports suggest that the next-generation model could prove even lighter.

With a compact four-cylinder engine and lightweight chassis, the replacement for the current MX-5 is reportedly being prepared for its debut in 2012. What this would mean, however, for the fate of the reputed MX-2 - a speculated sub-Miata roadster - remains to be seen.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]

Rendered Speculation: 2012 Mazda MX-5 could go lighter and smaller originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mazda MX-5's 20th Anniversary at LeMans - Click above for a high-res image gallery

It's hard to believe it's been two decades since Mazda first showed the world how to build a classic British sports car right. The roadster known as the Miata and MX-5 at different times and places around the world is 20 years old and to celebrate, Mazda has invited 200 examples and their owners from across Europe to a party in France next month at the 24 Hours of LeMans.

Over the course of two decades and three generations, Mazda has sold over 850,000 MX-5s and it remains one of the most entertaining roadsters available. While it's never been the most powerful sports car and some dismiss it as a secretary's chosen chariot, the compact, lightweight roadster has won over even the most insecure alpha males with taut handling, a balanced drivetrain and one of the simplest convertible mechanisms known to man.

European MX-5 owners who want to participate in the party should contact their national MX-5 club or Mazda France. The 200 attendees will watch the race from the Mazda camp alongside the circuit and a best in show will be awarded, along with plenty of goodies.


Gallery: Mazda MX-5 20th Anniversary Le Mans

Continue reading Mazda MX-5 to celebrate 20th birthday at Le Mans

Mazda MX-5 to celebrate 20th birthday at Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 May 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>le mansLeMansmazda miatamazda miata 20 aniversariomazda mx-5mazda mx-5 20th anniversarymazda mx-5 miatamazda mx5mazda mx5 miataMazdaMiataMazdaMiata20AniversarioMazdaMx-5MazdaMx-520thAnniversaryMazdaMx-5MiataMazdaMx5MazdaMx5Miatamiatamiata 20th anniversarymiata birthdayMiata20thAnniversaryMiataBirthdayWed, 27 May 2009 08:32:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1555592/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/05/27/mazda-mx-5-to-celebrate-20th-birthday-at-le-mans/1555592/article-detail.xml 1555592 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/mx5_proto_24h_lemans_01-580op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/mx5_proto_24h_lemans_01-580op.jpg <![CDATA[Next Mazda Miata to be lighter; get smaller engines and electric power steering?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/24/next-mazda-miata-to-be-lighter-get-smaller-engines-and-electric/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/24/next-mazda-miata-to-be-lighter-get-smaller-engines-and-electric/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/03/24/next-mazda-miata-to-be-lighter-get-smaller-engines-and-electric/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Click above for a high-res gallery of 20 years of the Mazda Miata/MX-5

Low weight and greater efficiency might not be the sexiest of selling points for a sports car unless you're a devotee of Lotus founder Colin Chapman's "add lightness" philosophy. Thankfully for those less-is-more enthusiasts, however, Mazda has steadily adhered to that formula with its MX-5 Miata - and now, word from the crew at GoAuto is that company engineers are working even harder to adhere to that design philosophy, with thoughts of smaller, force-fed engines and lighter curb weights dominating discussions for the next iteration of the iconic roadster.

There have long been rumors of a rotary-powered MX-5, but that's probably not in the cards. A modern take on the RX-7 is supposedly being worked up to take a new version of Felix Wankel's whirling dervish of an engine zipping into the future, with the MX-5 getting a newly developed line of four cylinders with direct injection and forced induction (finally!). A heavy-breathing Miata, packing the muscle of a MazdaSpeed3, for instance, might move the neo-MGB into a new realm at the top of its range.

Three words that tend to generate a half-frown on enthusiasts faces are being thrown about in the same sentence as the new Miata: "Electric power steering." We can see the push for the greater energy efficiency that EPS offers, but hopefully Mazda can make the Miata's helm joyously alive instead of Toyota Corolla-style numbness, all shot up with Novocaine (as most such systems tend to be).

Chassis details are also in the realm of conjecture at this point, but with words like "lighter" being shoved at us, we expect some significant re-engineering going on under the skin. That skin, by the way, will likely be more expressive than the rather safe MX-5 we have now, with Mazda's design chief Laurens van den Acker on record as saying the plan is for the car to "be more dramatic and give it some balls."


Gallery: Chicago 2009: Twenty Years of the Mazda Miata


[Source: GoAuto]

Next Mazda Miata to be lighter; get smaller engines and electric power steering? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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