Mazda MX-5

Mazda MX-5

The Exterior Design:

A Fusion of New Mazda Elements and an Unmistakable MX-5 Look
The front grille has been enlarged and changed from an oval shape to the five-point grille that forms part of the well-known Mazda family face. Combined with tautly styled headlights and lowing fog- lamp bezels, the new grille creates a reined and athletic expression.

The Roadster Coupe's more Upscale Identity
The Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe, which features a groundbreaking powered roof system, also incorporates several design changes that further emphasize its more upscale identity and distinguish it from the soft-top version.
* Front grille: Whereas the soft-top version has a in-type grille, the Roadster Coupe has a mesh grille that is framed by a chrome ring.
* Headlamp inner bezels: The headlamp inner bezels are painted silver on the soft-top version, but have a chrome finish on the Roadster Coupe.
* Fog-lamp inner bezels: The fog lamp inner bezels are black on the soft-top version, but are painted silver on the Roadster Coupe.
* Outer door handles: The outer door handles are body-coloured on the soft-top version, but have a chrome finish on the Roadster Coupe.
* High-mounted stop lamp: The high-mounted stop lamp has a red lens on the soft-top version, but a clear lens on the Roadster Coupe.

The New Wheel Designs
The MX-5 is available with 16-inch and 17-inch aluminium wheels. The 16-inch wheels have five sets of twin spokes for a lightweight look. The 17-inch wheels have 10 twisted spokes for a stronger impression of power and dynamism.

The Interior Design: Higher Than Ever Quality and Driver- Friendliness
The interior design delivers the Mazda MX-5's traditional combination of comfortable snugness below shoulder level and openness above shoulder level. It also reflects customer feedback in the form of enhanced quality and driver-friendly features.
The decorative surfaces on the instrument panel have been changed from glossy piano black to dark silver, which has a subtler, higher- quality look befitting a sports car. The meters have new graphics for higher legibility.

Recaro seats designed exclusively for the MX-5 are available in certain regions. They are upholstered in leather and perforated Alcantara for a sporty look, and they combine excellent support with easy ingress and egress.
Evolved Jinba Ittai for Enhanced Fun-To-Drive
The Jinba Ittai feeling on which Mazda has always focused with the Mazda MX-5 defines the kind of spontaneous car-and-driver interaction that anyone can experience whether they're driving the MX-5 in town, on twisty roads, or on an open highway. With the latest facelift, Mazda engineers evolved the attributes in the "driving", "cornering", "braking", and "listening" categories in the fishbone chart to realize performance that lets drivers enjoy the feeling of oneness with the car to an even greater degree.

A 500 rpm Higher Rev Limit Maximizes Engine Potential for Greater Enjoyment
The powertrain has been enhanced to enable the driver to enjoy the full potential of the engine's performance (a key "fun to drive" aspect of the MX-5). Specifically, the speed at which the engine delivers maximum power has been raised from 6,700 rpm to 7,000 rpm (2.0-litre M/T version) and the rev limit has been raised from 7,000 rpm to 7,500 rpm (all 2.0-litre versions). Without these enhancements, the engine feels smooth and linear right up to the rev limit, even with the throttle wide open.

A Sportier Engine Sound that Responds More Crisply to Accelerator Inputs
The engine sound (a key element in the "listening" category of the MX-5 fishbone chart) is a big part of the sports car experience. With the latest facelift, Mazda engineers made the Mazda MX-5 engine sound even better without causing aural discomfort for people outside the car.
The Newly Evolved and Reined Transmissions
With the six-speed manual transmission, the meshing surfaces of the 1st-4th triple-cone synchronizers are now carbon coated, and the 3rd-4th synchronizer diameter has been increased. These improvements enable smoother shifts up to the engine's heightened rev limit of 7,500 rpm.
A six-speed Activematic automatic transmission that's newly available with the MX-5 for Europe incorporates two new control technologies. One is Direct Activematic (DAM), which allows the driver to quickly change gears using paddles on the steering wheel while still driving in the "D" range. It was developed to enable quick downshifts for three common situations: decelerating using engine braking on a downhill road; accelerating after decelerating into a corner; and overtaking another vehicle. (The driver does not need to select the "M" range before shifting down.)

An Athletic Design that Heightens Aerodynamic Performance
To improve handling stability, quietness, and high-speed fuel economy, the MX-5 development team drew on Mazda's expertise in incorporating aerodynamic improvements into styling that's faithful to a design theme.

The main aerodynamic improvements are as follows:
* air guides that protrude downward from the left and right corners of the front bumper
* specification vehicles, except some specific markets)
* protruding rear combination lamps
* wider front tyre deflectors

Read more...

Mazda Ryuga Concept

Mazda Ryuga Concept

MAZDA RYUGA CONCEPT: AN EVOLVED ZOOM-ZOOM

RYUGA ( ree-yoo-ga=Japanese for gracious flow )
The large wheels placed at the far corners of Ryuga's exterior lend a highly stable, balanced stance. The aggressive wedge shape imparts motion even when this sports coupe is parked. Volumes that are small in front, larger at the rear, wrap around and over the wheels to give the exterior tension and direction.

Conducting a guided tour of the exterior, Nakamuta points out several key features:
* Ryuga's side surfaces were inspired by karesansui (Japanese dry gardens). The carefully raked pebbles in these garden s represent peaceful ripples caused by a breeze over a pool of water. The karesansui's man-made image of natural flow is represented in the Ryuga's surface texture to express simplicity and refinement.
* The headlamp shape resembles the flow of morning dew dropping from bamboo leaves. Advanced LED and fluorescent tube technology will enable such a striking design to be used on a production vehicle in the foreseeable future.
* To impart motion, the 21-inch wheel spokes - different on the left and right sides - are slightly twisted as if they're delivering torque. To convey the feeling of gas turbine blades, the trailing edges of the wheel spokes are accented with a tinge of body color.
* Flowing lava inspired both Ryuga's exterior hue and the tail lamp design. Depending on the incident light, Ryuga's surface appears to be shades of yellow, red, and blue, exactly like molten, flowing lava. Notes van den Acker: "The hot red finish goes straight to your heart."
* The roof molding tightens up the flowing cabin and gives an accent to the body styling as well. Cameras located at the forward end of each molding convey rear views to a center cockpit display screen. Turn signals are also integrated into these protruding accents.
Reflecting its Japanese origin, Ryuga is both simple and complex. While the dominant flow theme is simple, the details - such as the side surfaces and the wheels - are intricate. Solidity and fluidity live here together, in harmony.

Flow through interior

The Ryuga is significantly shorter and lower than today's four-passenger RX-8 sports car, it too accommodates four passengers in roomy comfort. A relatively long (110.2-inch) wheelbase and two large gull-wing doors provide a wide-open invitation to the interior.
The doors rise to expose the interior of Ryuga and allow easy slide-in access, the passengers are presented with the fusion of a cockpit - designed to maximize the emotional connection between the car and driver - with the social atmosphere of the rear passenger space, where lounge-like comfort is ensured through expansive space and Nagare-inspired design.

The front bucket seats provide ample lateral support for energetic driving with the shape of the seats creating an impression of movement which is further emphasized by the patterns in the material.
The experimental 'floating' center cluster allows a high level of interface between the driver and the multi-function touch panel without having to take one's eyes off the road ahead. Information necessary for safe and dynamic driving is available to the driver with RPM and speed (which is shown in both analog and digital format s ) being displayed on the same axis.

The driving performance-environment and saety technologies to support Zoom-Zoom

The part of the initiatives, an E85/Gasoline FLEX FUEL engine which runs on sustainable bio fuel could be used in Ryuga. This engine delivers torque and power, balancing driving and environmental performance. Other important features that will support safe driving are the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) cameras installed for the rear monitoring system and the blind-spot monitoring system. These help ensure safe driving while changing lanes and allow easy identification of potential obstacles. Mazda is working on various technologies to deliver Zoom-Zoom driving in the future, including earth-friendly environmental technologies and people-friendly safety technologies.


To ensure the car provides a Zoom-Zoom driving experience, which is the basis behind all the other features, an open top steering wheel is employed with highly sensitive settings to respond to the driver's smallest input. The car also features steer-by-wire technology and gauges that deliver superbly clear information to the driver. The dramatic wheels with TOYO PROXES 245/35R-21 tires complete the driving experience, and the sophisticated original tread pattern perfectly suits the Ryuga's design concept.

Read more...