Mazda president and CEO Masahiro Moro when interviewed by German publication Auto Motor und Sport, stated that the sports car will be offered in battery electric vehicle (BEV) and internal combustion engine (ICE) variants, with the latter continuing to feature a manual gearbox.
What makes the Mazda MX-5 popular is its small, light, and affordable sports car formula that with its near 50-50 weight distribution, it quickly became a cult favourite among driving enthusiasts and still is.
Even though the next generation MX-5 Is not expected till 2028, the bigwigs at Mazda are doing the necessary to keep things as close as possible for the car we know and love. The main technical hurdle facing development engineers is managing overall weight while maintaining the lightweight driving character that defines the MX-5
Mazda is focusing on slimming down the fundamental vehicle platform through standard structural engineering rather than resorting to costly lightweight materials such as carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP).
In electric vehicles the battery itself weighs a lot so keeping the wight down is extremely essential to maintain its superb driving characteristics. To give an example, the BMW 4 Series; the ICE version weighs roughly 1,600 kg while its EV counterpart, the i4, weighs approximately 2,300 kg. That’s a massive 700kg!!
“The target weight for the developers is between just under 1,000 and 1,200 kilograms. And I believe we can achieve that.” says Moro. It that can be achieved it’ll be a monumental effort from team Mazda.
