MAZDA HAS TODAY shared brand new images and details of its MX-5 Superlight concept. These join images released early last month giving the first glimpse of the concept’s rear quarter and a sketch of its interior.
Set to star for Mazda at next week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the concept has been developed as something of a birthday present to itself, celebrating 20 years for the popular MX-5 sports car.
The MX-5’s folding roof stand, door handles and front windscreen have been replaced by a revised rear deck with streamlined rollbars, smooth door-skins and a dash-top that melds seamlessly with the bodywork.
The MX-5 Superlight - as its name suggests - has been built as a study for advanced lightweight construction techniques.
With no windows nor the weight of a folding roof, the MX-5 Superlight concept weighs in at just 995kg.
Bilstein suspension, Eibach springs and a 30mm lower ride height should ensure a drive as dynamic as the car’s styling suggests.
Motivated by the same 1.8 litre petrol engine and five-speed transmission of the road-going MX-5, a claimed 8.9 second sprint to 100km/h shaves a second off the regular model’s time.
Four-piston fixed calipers and cross-drilled brake discs big enough to require a 50mm widening of the car’s track sit behind the same 17-inch alloy wheels of the current MX-5
Designed at Mazda’s European studios in Oberusel, Germany, the MX-5 Superlight is understood to be a commemorative project to celebrate the MX-5’s 20th anniversary this year.
Mazda says the MX-5 Superlight is strictly a concept-only, but as a study on improving weight reduction across the brand’s range, the Superlight may be a sign of things to come from Mazda.
