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Lightweight, Natural Aspiration: The Next Miata Sounds Incredibly Promising
The next generation of Mazda’s lovable sports car might end up being even lighter than the one it’s replacing. That news and other details come courtesy of a Road & Track interview with company CEO Masahiro Moro, chief technical officer Ryuichi Umeshita, and design boss Masashi Nakayama.
The current Miata, dubbed the ND, is already a welterweight, measuring in just north of 2300 pounds, but the next generation (expected to be called the NE, if we’re going by past naming conventions) might dip below the one-ton (2200 pounds) mark.
“What defines the MX-5?” Umeshita said to R&T. “I would say the most important thing is that it is lightweight, and that the second most important thing is that it is lightweight.” We couldn’t agree more, Umeshita-san.
Other details revealed in the interview are similarly promising. The next-gen Miata is expected to retain its naturally aspirated powertrain, albeit with a larger displacement. The current Miata runs a 2.0-liter inline-four, but according to Umeshita, the new car’s engine displacement will likely climb to 2.5 liters.
The bump comes as a way to compensate for the new compression-ignition running conditions that Mazda’s Skyactiv-Z powerplants enable. These lean-burn engines can pass ultra-tough emissions standards all over the world by running in conditions that Mazda calls Lambda:1, which uses “ultra-accurate metering to deliver the optimal stoichiometric fuel-air mixture through the rev range,” according to the R&T piece.
Better still, Umeshita seems determined to pair this new engine with a manual transmission. “Manual transmission has the direct feeling, the sense of Jinba Ittai” he said to R&T through a translator. (Jinba Ittai is Mazda’s engineering philosophy that translates to “horse and rider as one,” and it’s the principle that has guided the Miata’s development through the eras.)
Lest you think this is just executives trotting out lines they know enthusiasts want to hear, design boss Nakayama has been a fanatic from the get-go, admitting that he took out a large loan to buy his first Miata as a young man. Umeshita’s daily driver to and from the Hiroshima office? You guessed it: a Miata. CEO Masahiro Moro and Umeshita are both part of a team that regularly share an MX-5 in various endurance races around Japan, too.
“To me, driving at racing speed, you can establish your skill to feel vehicle dynamics,” Moro told R&T. “That’s important for us. You have to have the skill set to evaluate dynamics by yourself. I’m not a master driver, by the way, we do have more capable guys doing it—but I want to be part of that skill set.”
Sports cars may feel like they’re in their waning years right now—particularly ones that the everyman can afford. But this report gives us hope that the inimitable Miata will soldier on, carrying the lightweight, high-involvement formula into another generation. Cross your fingers and hope that continues to be the case.
Less weight sounds fantastic. I’m less enthusiastic about the idea of more displacement, as I don’t find a lot of 4-cylinders with more than 2.0 liters to be all that great of an experience.
One more thing I would consider essential to any Miata is a double wishbone or multilink suspension architecture. I do not want to ever see struts on a Miata.
Displacement equals torque. If it’s going to be naturally aspirated, give me more power. More low-end torque. I passed on the Toyoburu twins because it felt like the car had to be wound up to 5,000 RPM just to keep up with the old lady in the Camry.
What I’d really love is an extra inch or two in the cockpit. I found I was just a little too close even with the seat all the way back. I worried that anything longer than a 20-minute drive might not be fun. That was literally the only thing stopping me from buying. I doubt the next gen will grow, however, especially if dropping weight is the goal.
As someone who already owns a Miata, things like more torque and keeping up with Camrys (which can have as much as 301 hp stock) aren’t of interest to me, nor do they seem particularly aligned with the appeal of the car. There are plenty of other options out there that offer more torque, power, speed, and space. There aren’t, however, very many cars that offer what the Miata does.
And that’s called Jinba Ittai galore.
Yes, indeed! More space between driver & steering wheel, please! I’m 5ft-3in. Driving my 1994 soft-top (year-round with rear glass window & snow tires in Michigan/Ontario) was perfect. Now I have a 2011 with power retractable hardtop to avoid shoulder surgery. Seat has to be fully forward to properly depress the clutch, which I think is dangerous if a front-end collision occurs. (I can’t install pedal extensions unless I ban husband & others from driving.)
I’m ready to buy another Miata with factory-installed navigation/GPS and heated seats; but the body color choices in all recent years are beyond boring. So I’m considering hunting for a slightly used Miata with scratched paint or a few small dings, so I can justify a full repainting in something not offered.
Count me among the few that wants the 1.5 liter ND here, with the LSD and Club suspension. A 2.5 is concerning, but Mazda has at least given us reason to give the benefit of the doubt over and over.
What is the appeal of the 1.5?
I like what I hear. Hopefully the spirit of this car can continue.
Many time, I think about owning a Miata. Unfortunately, I am 6’5″ tall. I cannot even sit down in a Miata. Plans to make it smaller makes me give up any hope of ever being able to drive a Miata. 🙁
Shorter people of the world, enjoy the drive. Zoom-zoom. 🙂
My sentiments exactly. I’ve admired the Miata ever since its inception, but it’s just too small inside for people of my size (used to be 6’5″, now 6’4″). Mazda could make a very similar car that would also “fit” us larger folks if they just tried. Toyobaru succeeded with the BRZ/GR86 twins, one of which I am now driving!
I’m 6’5”, 225 lbs and I find the driver’s side of my ND to be cozy but comfortable. Passenger side not so much but at least bearable if my wife wants to drive while we run errands.
I did lower the driver seat with the Blackbird Fabworx seat mount which made track days less taxing, though I still don’t pass the broomstick test.
The car is my daily with rare track days (those are mostly for the Caterham, an SV model of course) but I have done some weekend trips with it with no squawks.
My advice to those of us with larger builds: at least try one on before you dismiss it out of hand, especially the ND. You might be surprised at how paradoxically well you fit.
If anyone is wondering if that is a typo about one ton is 2200 pounds? Yes, it is 2000 pounds and a METRIC ton is 2205 pounds, And the switch to a 2.5 is more likely product rationalization. There is a 2.5 already in SUVs and the Mazda3
Ya beat me to it, Ralph. One kilogram equals 2.205 pounds. One thousand kilograms, 2205 pounds, equals one metric ton.
And, by the way, a kilo is not a synonym for kilogram. It’s merely a prefix denoting 1000 times, such a kilogram, kilometer, kiloliter. (Not a clarification regarding your your comment, Ralph. It’s just a commonly misused term.)
It’ll just never be an S2000.
Having owned a 2011 Miata and now an S2000 I agree with Jo Anne. Do i have your former red S2000 from New York, Jo Anne? Too bad they no longer make them.
Nope. I still have mine and always plan to!
I currently own 3 Miata’s an early build 1990 (8,89) a 2001 and a 2022 I like all 3 even though the 1990 is low on power, I still enjoy it’s fun factor, the 2001 is an automatic, purchased it for my wife who won’t drive a manual car,the 2022 is a Sport model that is definitely the quickest
I have a 1990 and 2021 RF . I find the NA has more of a fun factor to it than the RF, however the RF is a more refined sports car.
Mazda is already making a straight 6. If they want to recapture the magic of the original, that would be the one everybody would lust for.