Mazda MX-5 | Fiat 124 | Abarth 124 (2015)

Nota de prensa, en inglés
Mazda Unveils All-New Mazda MX-5

HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation today celebrated the unveiling of the fourth generation Mazda MX-5 (known as Roadster in Japan) together with fans at events held simultaneously in Japan, USA and Spain. The all-new MX-5, which adopts both SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and Mazda’s KODO-Soul of Motion design language, will be rolled out to global markets starting in 2015.

The MX-5 is an iconic model representing Mazda’s vehicle-engineering philosophy-the pursuit of driving pleasure. «Innovate in order to preserve» was the motto for the fourth generation, as the development team searched for innovations that go beyond simple evolution. Environmental and safety demands are much more stringent than they were when the first generation MX-5 was introduced 25 years ago, but the fourth generation stays true to the model’s original aim of offering the pure driving fun that only a lightweight sports car can. It achieves this through the adoption of SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY and refinement of its appeal to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars.

The design of the all-new MX-5 reveals another layer to Mazda’s KODO design language. The exquisite proportions make the driver and passenger stand out, and both the interior and exterior evoke the exhilaration of open-top driving. It is the most compact of any generation MX-5 so far and is more than 100 kilograms lighter than the model it replaces, promising a dramatic leap in Jinba-ittai driving fun.

As of July 2014, total production volume of the Mazda MX-5 exceeded 940,000 units and it continues to hold the Guinness World Record for the best-selling two-seater sports car. This highly-celebrated model has received over 200 awards from around the globe including Japan Car of the Year 2005-2006.

Moving forward, Mazda will continue to develop products which offer all customers driving pleasure and outstanding environmental and safety performance.

Datos tecnicos
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Nota de prensa mas grande
LONG LIVE THE ROADSTER- THE ALL-NEW MAZDA MX-5

Innovate in order to preserve – a 25th anniversary resolution

[i]Features handed down from generation to generation[/i]

It is with great pleasure that we are now ready to introduce the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5. As a member of the MX-5 development team and a passionate sports car enthusiast, I am deeply grateful to all the people who created, fostered and supported this car over the years. To see that so many people around the world continue to admire the MX-5 even now, 25 years after its launch, makes me happier than I can express. It is thanks to their passion and the different ways owners and fans enjoy this car that the Mazda MX-5 has matured and evolved over the last quarter century. I also wish to express my gratitude and heartfelt respect to the European carmakers that originally pioneered the fun-to-drive lightweight sports car, to our staff in the U.S. who hatched the MX-5 plan more than 25 years ago, and to the many Mazda employees in Hiroshima and around the world who helped refine it and supported its evolution over the years.

The Jinba Ittai driving experience exemplified by Mazda’s brand icon, the Mazda MX-5, is no longer the domain of lightweight sports cars. Rather, it has become the essence of every vehicle that Mazda builds. As symbolised by the challenge of developing the world’s first mass-production rotary engine, the spirit of constantly striving to meet new challenges is very much part of the Mazda DNA. The passion of the engineers and designers who were carrying on that spirit is what directed the development of the original MX-5, which in turn became the starting point for the Jinba Ittai driving experience. This evolved further and played no small role in the development of SKYACTIV

Technol­ogy, the KODO – Soul of Motion design theme and other innovations.

Over its 25-year history, the Mazda MX-5 has brought drivers and cars closer together in its a never-ending quest to deliver a faithful response and an enjoyable driving experience, whether cruising at slow speeds or enjoying a high-speed run. At the same time, it helped establish the Mazda brand’s unique reputation for providing driving pleasure.

An open-top sports car that all drivers can truly enjoy

Right from the first generation, our philosophy for the Mazda MX-5’s development has remained the same: Create a car that delivers true driving pleasure and is an irreplaceable partner for the people on board – and onlookers, too – brightening and cheering their mood. In addition to lessons learnt from our predecessors, we carried out advanced research into human sensitivity, developed new technologies, met a wide range of challenges, broke through barriers and finally realised the pleasure of the lightweight sports car as best suited to the times. This includes Mazda’s hall­mark Jinba Ittai, the feeling of oneness between the driver and car as the driver enjoys a fresh breeze in an open-top sports car, and the “Lots of Fun” characteristics that go beyond ordinary driving pleasure. These two themes have been the unchanging watchwords guiding the MX-5’s development as we continued to enhance the model’s driving pleasure while meeting increasingly pressing customer demands for comfort, safety and environmental friendliness.

It is the reason why all generations of the MX-5 preserved the principal requirements of a lightweight sports car featuring a compact open-top two-seater body, a front-midship engine, rear-wheel drive configuration, a 50:50 front-rear weight distribution, a low yaw inertia moment and an affordable price. Equally as important has been to evolve its value proposition as an open-top sports car that all drivers can truly enjoy anywhere and at any time.

Engineering devoted to taking our original aims into the future

MX-5 became a struggle with the model’s 25-year history. It also marked a challenge to connect that history to the coming 25 years. Over the past quarter century, the demands for greater envi­ronmental friendliness and safety have grown increasingly stringent. Each successive model of the past three generations has seen slight increases in body size and weight in response to these demands. In developing the fourth-generation MX-5, we returned to the original aims of the first generation that restored the culture of the lightweight sports car and then took on the challenge of embodying the fundamental pleasure of driving an open-top light­weight sports car in a product suited to today’s needs. In other words, Mazda firmly believes that the fun of being one with the car – the exhilaration felt by any driver on any kind of road – must be maintained. To do this, Mazda considers it essential to realise a different kind of innovation that goes far beyond mere product refinement. This is clearly summed up by the maxim “innovate in order to preserve,” which expresses the challenge behind developing the fourth-generation MX-5.

There is no doubt that the key to realising this lays with the effective implementation of SKYACTIV Technology, which strikes the right balance between reduced weight, environmental friendliness and safety. It also includes the KODO design, which brings the presence of a living creature and a strong sense of vitality to the car. At the same time, we also went back to the original intention of the first generation. We asked ourselves how best to awake the driver’s innate sensibilities as we aimed to further enhance the MX-5’s Jinba Ittai driving experience and raise the level of fun associated with every detail when it comes to owning, viewing and customising the car, or even just meeting up with friends.

Toward this purpose, we delved further into the concept of Kansei engineering* employed since the first generation as we made a concerted effort to appeal to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars, and thereby realise an unprecedented level of driving pleasure. We fully adopted the latest implementation of Mazda’s SKYACTIV Technology and its related theories as part of a thorough effort to achieve the ideal structure for a lightweight sports car. The result is the most compact body size of any MX-5 generation combined with a weight reduction of more than 100 kg over the third-generation model.

The Mazda MX-5 has steadily evolved in a way that is only possible thanks to an unchanging passion shared between Mazda and countless MX-5 owners and fans around the world. As the current programme manager of this product, I am both profoundly appreciative and keenly aware of the great responsibility I bear. This explains why we can never take a break from “innovating in order to preserve” if we want the MX-5 to continue to be the recipient of such passionate adoration for the next 25 or 50 years. This is our duty as the developer, and at the same time it’s an exciting dream, a source of happiness, and something we are proud of. It is also a conviction that will surely be in­herited by the next generation of engineers who work on the MX-5. We are ready for the challenges of the next quarter century and beyond, always inspired by the passion of our fans around the world.

Product Concept: The all-new Mazda MX-5

[i]Joy of the moment, joy of life[/i]

Appealing to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars

The significance given to maximising the Jinba Ittai and “Lots of Fun” experiences means that Mazda did much more than simply develop a compact sports car. Rather, the Mazda MX-5 was made to be looked at, to perform and respond faithfully to the driver’s will, to deliver a tangibly pleasing experience, to emphasise the owner’s character. Just having an MX-5 makes life more pleasant and more colourful. Mazda built the MX-5 with the hopes that it would become a presence that transcended its existence as a mere car. To carry on the MX-5’s rich tradition while more purely than ever embodying the essence of what appeals to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars, the development team made every effort to further evolve the product. Particular effort was concentrated on advancing three elements.

The first was to create a design that would set any heart pounding with excitement. Just one look at the fourth-generation MX-5 should get the pulse racing. Sitting in it should bring a smile to the driver’s face and instantaneously spark an urge to take the top down and go for a drive. And it should become a cherished part of the owner’s life as time goes on. These attributes are what the development team aimed to express in an even purer state with the fourth-generation MX-5. In pursuit of them, they worked to add greater depth to the KODO design theme, to embody beautiful proportions that make the occupants stand out and to make the Mazda open-air roadster experience all the more enjoyable.

They focused on the following:

– Beautiful proportions that make its occupants look good.

– A deeper expression of the KODO design theme that conveys agility

– Body surfaces that richly express the Japanese sense of contrast between stillness and motion

– An interior design that melts away the boundaries between the inside and outside of the car.

– A snug feeling cockpit with sym­metry and a singular axis that enables concentration on driving.

The second element is to deliver a driving experience that will captivate any driver. For every generation of the MX-5, importance was placed on appealing to the senses and sensations through which people enjoy cars rather than focusing merely on sheer performance. With “sensation” as the keyword for the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5, development efforts focused on making the car even more enjoyable to control and faithful in its response.

When driving in typical daily situations, the car responds directly to the driver’s will, as though it were extension of the driver’s own body. When enjoying a sporty run along winding roads, it responds faithfully to the driver’s actions in pleasingly light fashion.

Every effort went into further refining these attributes to realise the ultimate Jinba Ittai driving experience that will captivate any driver. Here are some of the highlights:

– The latest SKYACTIV Technology and Mazda’s “gram strategy” combine to reduce weight by more than 100 kg over the third-generation model.

– Front-midship engine, rear-wheel drive configuration to achieve an ideal 50:50 front-rear weight distribution.

– The engine is located closer to the vehicle’s centre, the bonnet, boot lid, front fender and front and rear bumper reinforcements are made of aluminium, and the weight of the soft top is reduced. These combine to attain a lower yaw inertia moment and a lower centre of gravity.

– The pedals, controls, gauges and all equipment are optimally positioned to enable the driver to maintain a straight posture and drive comfortably.

– The height of the bonnet is lowered and the A-pillars and windshield header are moved rearward and made thinner to create a panoramic view with greater visibility of the road and peripheral movement.

– SKYACTIV-G direct-injection petrol engines are positioned longitudinally and specially tuned for the MX-5.

– New lightweight yet highly rigid suspension fully leverages the know-how of SKYACTIV Technol­ogy, with a double-wishbone suspen­sion in the front and multi-link set-up in the rear.

– The brake system is designed to maximise controllability and deliver reassuring effectiveness, plen­ty of braking power and an optimised posture when braking.

The third element is a pleasantly re­freshing roadster experience that any­one can enjoy. It embodies a feeling of openness only possible in a convertible sports car, a feeling that can quickly lift anybody’s spirits anywhere and anytime while enjoying an open-top drive.

Key elements here included:

– The MX-5 is equally beautiful whether the top is up or down.

– The interior is designed to maximise the pleasure of open-top driving.

– The soft top is easy to operate while seated.

– Wind control makes a pleasure of driving with the top down.

– Headrest speakers further enhance this enjoyment.

In addition to the three aforementioned elements, the fourth-generation further evolves the pleasure of an MX-5 adapted into an original car that reflects its owner’s character. Furthermore, satisfying the demands of the day are Mazda’s latest-generation human-machine interface (HMI) and MZD Connect*, Mazda’s next-generation in-car connectivity system that efficiently links the driver to the car and the outside world. A human-centric perspective was adopted in the pursuit of advanced safety based on the Mazda Proactive Safety philosophy to appeal to the senses and sensations through which people experience cars and enable the driver to fully enjoy the driving experience.

* Known as Mazda Connect in Japan, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

Design – A look that sets heart racing

For the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5, the development team was not going to be satisfied with a mere facelift. Nor were they prepared to aim for a design that simply accommodates current trends. Mazda’s only desire was to satisfy its vision of how an open-top lightweight sports car should look. It had to light a fire of excitement in the hearts of all those who relate to the stance Mazda assumed in developing the model over the past quarter century, and who crave a purer embodiment of Mazda’s icon.

Mazda’s first thought in aiming for the ultimate MX-5 design was to create beautiful proportions that make occupants stand out and look good. True to its Japanese name – Mazda Roadster – the basic form of the MX-5 makes those riding in the car the stars when seen with the top down and windows low­ered. As such, the packaging engineers assigned to the development team worked closely together to examine a wide variety of elements related to a beautiful design when the top is down, and also to emphasise the driver’s seating position and embody proportions that best convey the satisfaction and exhilaration of driving the MX-5. This resulted in refinements such as moving the cabin a little toward the rear to create the appearance that the occupants are sitting at the body’s midpoint, and lowering the hip-point of the seats in conjunction with the new design’s low centre of gravity.

Based on these proportions, the development team took on the challenge of adding greater depth to the KODO design theme and fully expressing all they wished for in the new design. This included embodying KODO’s characteristic stance with an expression of stability that makes the vehicle appear as though it is firmly gripping the road surface, and creating an image of agility that makes the MX-5 appear ready to instantly change direction. The fine craftsmanship of Mazda’s renowned clay modellers created contours that cause reflections off the body’s surfaces to change in stunning fashion as the car moves. It makes the car look alive while at the same time creating a sense of emotional attachment that evokes a desire to stroke the surface with the palm of one’s hand. In addition, the lines travelling from the headlamps, peaking at the front fenders and converging in front of the rear tires before sweeping upwards over the rear fenders, create a sense of motion at varying speeds. Reminiscent of Japanese calligraphy, this represents the Japanese sensibilities bred into the Mazda MX-5.

The aim for the interior was to create a cockpit design that brings a smile to the face and gets the heart pounding simply by looking at it or sitting in the driver’s seat. One example is how the body panels wrap around to extend right into the door trim and thereby dissolve the visual boundaries between the vehicle’s interior and exterior. When sitting in the cockpit, the driver sees a ridge line that extends in powerful fashion from the upper part of the door trim to the top of the front fenders. In addition to providing a feeling of open space as only possible with an open-top body, the lines emphasise a feeling of oneness between driver and car. The design also attempts to heighten the pleasure of driving an open-top sports car by enabling the driver to experience the change in the surrounding environment in real time. When sunlight filters through the trees, for example, or light reflects as the sun sets. Careful attention paid to the shape of the door trim and making the quarter windows more compact aims to actively control the flow of air that reaches the cockpit. The result is a pleasant environment with just the right amount of wind blowing in when driving with the top down. In addition, positioning the ta­chometer and small-diameter steering wheel on the same axis creates perfect symmetry between the round climate-control louvers to the right and left of the instrument cluster. This serves to establish a single axis throughout the cockpit, while at the same time creating a pleasantly tight feeling that enables the driver to concentrate on driving. With special attention to every detail, Mazda focused on building the MX-5 to transcend its existence as a mere automobile and become a sports car that owners will truly love.

While paying due respect to the British as the pioneers of the genre and to the first-generation Mazda MX-5 as the car that resurrected it in the modern age, the design aim for the all-new MX-5 was to create the ideal image of a Mazda lightweight sports car. Every inch of the fourth-generation MX-5 reflects this desire and the pleasure it intends to give to all who drive it.