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A mightier Miata
Money magazine: Mazdaspeed's racy sports car should make fans roar even more.
December 29, 2003: 12:18 PM EST
By Lawrence Ulrich, Money magazine

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) - Mazda's Miata saved the convertible from auto oblivion -- its daring 1989 debut cleared a path for pop-toppers from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and more -- but fans of the roadster have never stopped wishing for a bit more (okay, a lot more) power.

Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata  
Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata

Enter Mazdaspeed. Mazda's high-performance unit will kick off a slate of speedier models with the Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata. On sale nationwide in March, this limited-edition Miata gets 178 horsepower, a 25 percent bump up from the leisurely base model.

"Miata's evil twin," says Mazda executive Robert Davis.

Expect zero-to-60-mph times well below seven seconds. That's about two seconds better than the everyday Miata, fast enough to muss the most severely sprayed 'do.

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Racy additions include a short-throw six-speed manual transmission, bigger 17-inch alloy wheels by Racing Hart and a lowered and stiffened sport suspension. Pricing isn't official, but the base tag should stick close to $25,000.

By early 2005, performance junkies can expect a turbocharged Mazdaspeed 3 sports compact that should pump out at least 200 horsepower (or up to 240, if Mazda decides to offer an all-wheel-drive version). The hotted-up 3 should be followed by Mazdaspeed's take on the mid-size 6.

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It seems like every automaker -- from Mercedes and BMW to Ford and Cadillac -- is obsessed with bringing more power to the people. But Davis stresses that Mazda speed is no racetrack rookie. Begun as a side project of a Tokyo Mazda dealer in the '70s, Mazdaspeed evolved into the automaker's successful racing operation in the'80s, then into performance parts and vehicles. Mazda remains the only Japanese automaker to capture an overall win at the storied 24 Hours of LeMans, accomplishing the feat in 1991 with a rotary-engine prototype.

"Our performance cars are true to our inherent nature," Davis says. "We're not starting with some SUV or cushy luxury car."  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.