Speedster

Although the new, 2016 Miata was out in time for last year’s SEMA show—at which Mazda unveiled the MX-5 Global Cup Racing Version—the ND Miata otherwise didn’t make a big splash at the show. This coming SEMA is the first at which we should see more of the ND Miata, since it’s been available to customers—and, thus, tuners—for months now. Mazda isn’t leaving all the Miata massaging to outsiders, though. The company is itself cooking up two special versions of its roadster.Mazda’s two alternate takes on the Miata are the MX-5 Spyder Concept and the MX-5 Speedster Concept. The Spyder, Mazda says, “captures the character of a vintage roadster.” That’s about all the info the company is giving out at this point, except to reveal that the car features a special leather interior and its paint color is Mercury Silver. From the one (half) photo, we also can see that the Spyder has brown soft top that looks to sport canvas … [Read more...] about Spyder and Speedster: Mazda Creating Two Special Miatas for SEMA

If one of Mazda’s concept Miatas for the 2016 SEMA show looks a bit familiar, you’re not mistaken. The Miata Speedster concept, pictured in white above, is returning to the tuner show with a few modifications. It’s now called the Speedster Evolution, and Mazda says it boasts a curb weight of just under 2000 pounds, or nearly 100 pounds less than last year’s Speedster concept.Mazda hasn’t yet shared how exactly it cut out that extra weight. Other than the diet, there isn’t much else different about the Speedster, which remains a sleek-looking variation on the MX-5 with its carbon-fiber deflector in place of a windshield and tonneau cover. It is now painted in a color called White Ether, and it looks to have different wheels and tires compared with last year’s concept.Mazda’s other concept is fresher. The MX-5 RF Kuro is based on the new-for-2017 Miata RF retractable-hardtop variant. It is not quite as extreme as the Speedster; … [Read more...] about Mazda Prepares for a Miata-rific SEMA 2016 with Speedster and RF Kuro Concepts

Mazda says the annual SEMA show gives its designers the opportunity to “let their imaginations run wild.” That’s not exactly the case for the MX-5 Miata Speedster Evolution concept for this year’s show, which is simply a new version of the same Speedster concept Mazda showed at SEMA last year. Even still, we’re okay with it, because the Speedster’s cool factor hasn’t worn off yet.The 2015 version of the Speedster was already an extreme interpretation of the small rear-wheel-drive roadster. It weighed just over 2000 pounds and did away with the standard Miata‘s windshield and softtop in favor of a small air deflector and a tonneau cover behind the front seats. But Mazda decided that the Speedster hadn’t gone far enough and went back to the drawing board to cut even more weight.For this new version, Mazda replaced the instrument cluster with a digital display, exchanged the stock battery for a lightweight lithium-ion battery … [Read more...] about Mazda MX-5 Miata Speedster, Part Deux: This Time with Even Less Weight

Cribbing the same formula that created the iconic Porsche 1600 Speedster more than half a century ago, the Mazda MX-5 Speedster concept is designed to emphasize the raw fundamentals of driving and little else. Wearing a small wind deflector in place of a windshield and finished in a bespoke shade named Blue Ether, the MX-5 Speedster concept clearly is intended to heighten the intensity of the man-and-machine ethos that already defines the production MX-5 Miata.Weight savings is key to the speedster philosophy, and this MX-5 addresses the tenet via several methods. Unsprung weight is reduced via custom 16-by-8-inch Rays Extreme Gram Lights wheels wrapped in Kumho Ecsta V710 225/50 tires (with vintage-style lettering!), while carbon-fiber doors, synthetic interior leather trim, and custom carbon-fiber Mu-Len Delta seats all contribute to a claimed weight savings of 250 pounds. As it sits on the stand at SEMA, the MX-5 Speedster weighs in at a sprightly 2080 pounds. … [Read more...] about Less Is More: The Mazda Miata Speedster Is Purity on Wheels

2014 L.A. auto show, Henrik Fisker made big news as he showed a sexy, carbon-fiber-bodied Ford Mustang–based concept called the Rocket, which became a production reality with the help of Galpin Auto Sports of Van Nuys, California. Now, roughly nine months later—surprising no one—Fisker and Galpin have announced that the Rocket coupe (which we drove already) will be joined by a rather more extroverted variant, the topless Rocket Speedster, which made its debut on the Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Élégance.With a tonneau cover over the rear seat (which has not been deleted), the Speedster looks suitably exotic, thanks to fairings behind the front seats flanked by mesh vents that allegedly allow air to pass through the space rather than letting it become a huge pocket that increases drag. Remove the cover and the top still works, too, we’re told, so technically this is more like a regular convertible than a speedster in the … [Read more...] about 2016 Ford Mustang Galpin Rocket Speedster: Fisker’s Dream Mustang Loses Its Lid

In his recent reporting on the Bugatti Chiron, which could pack 1500 horsepower, hit 288 mph, and have swing-up doors, Automobile Magazine’s Georg Kacher stated that the Veyron successor has been delayed until 2016, and with the Veyron’s 450-car run just about finished, a very limited run of speedsters based on the model could be built to “keep the workforce busy.” That is, of course, to say nothing of funneling millions upon millions of bucks into Bugatti’s coffers.The report provided no hint of what sort of modifications would be made to the car to turn it into a speedster. How much might the windshield be chopped for Speedster duty? Would it have an occasional-use roof panel? Would it use the Veyron name? Will Bugatti replace all the hair lost when owners inevitably perform top-speed runs? Nor did the report give an estimate of how many millions of dollars such a thing would cost.Predictably, when we inquired, Bugatti was mum on the topic, … [Read more...] about A Mighty Wind: Bugatti Rumored To Be Considering Limited Run of Veyron Speedsters