Some 855,000 examples of the MX-5 Miata have streamed out of Mazda's factory in Japan since the first 1990 model hit the ground in late 1989. In fact, this convertible roadster has a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most popular sports car ever built.
The MX-5 lifted the idea of the lightweight roadster out of obscurity and placed it back on the wish list of car enthusiasts around the world. It single-handedly proved that lightweight sports cars were cool once again, and from this epiphany has come a long list of cars that partake in the Miata's spirit if not its form, like the Audi TT, BMW Z3/Z4, Fiat Barchetta, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Pontiac Solstice, Porsche Boxster and Rover MGF.
The Magic Comes From Lightness
The secret of the Miata's success lies in its conception. Mazda modeled its small sports car pretty frankly on the rear-wheel-drive 1962 Lotus Elan, which offered a revolutionary combination of lightness and performance even then. And no matter how much Americans and Europeans alike have longed for more passenger room and more power ever since, Mazda hasn't strayed from its original mission. The MX-5 Miata is still a lightweight, balanced and responsive roadster that delivers the very best in wind-in-the-hair driving at an affordable price.
The headlights are slanted upward more than before, rocker sill skirts have been integrated into the shape, the taillights protrude (it's all the rage in Japan) and a small spoiler is integrated into the trunk lid. The designers have also made the front and rear bumpers wider to redirect the flow of air away from the turbulent area around the spinning tires. As a result, the Cd has dropped 0.01 to 0.34 for the soft top and 0.32 for the hardtop.
Straight-line stability has also been enhanced, although the stiffer suspension settings generate a slight pitching motion at speed and a harsher ride overall. But on winding roads and racetracks, this new suspension setting is superb and cannot be faulted, especially when combined with these grippy 205/45R17 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A run-flat tires.
More Revs!
Next Kijima turned to the MX-5's MZR engine. The 2.0-liter power plant's 170 horsepower arrives at 7,000 rpm, not 6,700 rpm, while the redline has climbed 500 rpm to 7,500 rpm. This enables you to squeeze that little bit extra out of the 2.0-liter inline-4's top end to get the full 170 hp. You really appreciate this upgrade when you exit a corner and want every herb on tap to get a quick escape. And as someone who races an MX-5 in Japan, we'll tell you that the top-end power will be more than welcome when we come out of the hairpin bends at Tsukuba Circuit looking for a quick exit.
To enable such high-rpm punishment, Mazda fitted pistons with full-floating wristpins and a forged crankshaft, technology borrowed from the 2.5-liter MZR engine featured in the new Mazda 6. The corporate specifications sheet says power remains unchanged at 170 hp, and so does the torque rating of 140 pound-feet at 5,000 rpm. But Kijima lets on that these revisions have in fact upped power by around 3-4 hp. As a result, this new engine calibration for Japan (which has 100-octane gasoline) delivers a sprint to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, marginally quicker than the current model.
Coat a Cone With Carbon
Helping to generate such a time is a modified six-speed manual transmission. The Miata's transmission has produced nothing but accolades from driving enthusiasts, but Kijima still saw room for improvement. Now the outer cones of the triple synchros for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear wear a coating of carbon for slicker shift action, so you can drain every last rpm out of this screaming 2.0-liter.
The chief engineer also revised the MX-5's six-speed automatic, adding Active Adaptive Shift (AAS), which now allows drivers to instantly engage the manual mode while in Drive just by flicking one of the shift paddles on the steering wheel.
To complete his mission to make the MX-5 Miata's driving experience the best it can be, Kijima fitted an induction sound enhancer to the intake manifold. It picks up sound and vibration when accelerating hard and feeds a raspier sound to the cabin, making the whole experience a lot more engaging.
Overall, Kijima's tweaks take the MX-5 to the next level. The car feels more supple and in touch with the road, and when you want a bit more power, just give the sound enhancer a good old stir.
Opinion: A classic update to improve upon the most legendary roadster ever built. More power, better handling, better tires, less weight, more gas mileage, all add up to make a worthy successor to the current MX-5... Not to mention its more "masculine" styling, but it still can go a little more.
LINK: EDMUNDS
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