Mazda MX-5 Miata Future Plans

Motor Trend has learned that Mazda will be downsizing its famed softtop and shedding precious pounds off its next-generation MX-5 Miata, currently under development at the company's Hiroshima headquarters in Japan. A source close to Mazda confirmed that the R&D team, now under the leadership of chief engineer Shuko Yamamoto, will be going back to basics to redefine the MX-5 for its proposed 2011 launch.

The goal? Getting size and weight down to where they were 20 years ago. "The current model is just too heavy," says our source. The original 1989 MX-5 weighed just 2100 lbs. and was powered by a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine. That is where Mazda wants to take the fourth-generation coupe, a car that today, in third-generation guise, tips the scales at a hefty 2460 lbs. According to a source inside Mazda, the R&D team will be targeting a curb weight of around 1000 kgs. or 2200 lbs. But shedding more than 250 lbs. while maintaining the current car's safety levels and spacious cockpit won't be easy.

No one knows that better than Takao Kijima, former chief engineer and father of the MX-5 since the early '90s. Never a meeting goes by that Kijima doesn't utter his signature phrase of "lightweight sports." As the years went by, he reluctantly watched his roadster pour on the pounds, reaching a weight that makes him uncomfortable, although he won't come straight out and say it. Thought Kijima still is employed as a "special adviser," the task of slimming down the MX-5 now is firmly in Yamamoto's hands.

Our source says that getting weight down will enable the incorporation of a smaller, lighter engine, crucial in lowering emissions and improving fuel economy. "We are testing both 1.6 and 1.8 liter engines, which undercut our current 2.0 liter unit, but deliver the same 160-170 hp power range," informs our insider. "Obviously we are giving priority to the 1.6-liter, but who knows?"

To get weight down, they'll have to fit in a smaller, lighter engine. More to the point, designers will have to be very liberal as they shave back the front and rear overhangs, because the platform and wheelbase dimensions will stay pretty much as is but use a more lightweight yet robust construction that will be critical in achieving this ambitious goal. Oh, and we are told to expect a slight drop in price, too.