Mazda's MX-5, true to its principles - Irish Car+Travel (blog)
That’s what Mazda has done with the fourth version of its MX-5 sports car. According to Kevin Rice, Mazda Europe’s Design Director, all that was achieved by examining every detail and component of the model and making changes wherever something could be done better. But it was a re-examination of what had made the MX-5 arguably the most successful car of its type ever that underpinned the development of the latest version. “And visually, the proportions were at the heart of the attraction of the car. Noting that cars get larger and heavier as they evolve, the brief for the fourth MX-5 was to ‘minimise everything and trim off all unwanted fat’. One tiny example — the wheels on the new car are held by four bolts instead of five on the previous one. Indeed, the combination of all that fat trimming, and the use of more aluminium in body panels and structures, realised a 100kg saving in overall weight on the latest MX-5, in proportionate terms for the small car a massive reduction. The proportions have been revised, with shorter overhangs, the moving back of the A-pillar by a whopping 70mm, and shifting the occupant seats back and lower so that they are right on the centre of gravity of the car. “We have the shortest cabin in the history of the MX-5, yet we give the driver. Source: www.carandtravel.eu
