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Mazda MX-5:: next generation could feature carbon-fibre, three-cylinder engines

Despite the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 only going on sale last year, Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the car's program manager, has revealed some details about the next-generation model.


Yamamoto told Autocar that the fifth-generation MX-5, which isn't due until 2021 at the very earliest, will attempt to shed more weight. Some of those savings will come through the adoption of more lightweight materials, including carbon-fibre.

Although carbon-fibre is currently expensive and typically reserved for upmarket sports cars and supercars, Yamamoto revealed that the Japanese car maker is working on ways to make it more affordable.

If Yamamoto and his team are successful with their weight loss program, the next MX-5 will also feature "a smaller engine, smaller tyres". So, it's possible that the next-generation car could feature a three-cylinder motor as its entry-level engine.

While the current car shrank in relation to the third-generation model, Yamamoto believes that "the size is right" now.

This is good news for adherents to the less-is-more faith, but Yamamoto did have some bad news for fans: the Speedster and Spyder concepts revealed at SEMA last year won't be heading into limited production as they aren't "feasible".

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