cars-trend: Mazda MX-5 Superlight Concept

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Mazda MX-5 Superlight Concept

Many would argue that the little Mazda MX-5 is plenty light as it is, but they wouldn't be Mazda's German design team. If you ask them, they'd tell you it could be a lot lighter, and they aim to prove it in the form of the MX-5 Superlight Concept.
Built to celebrate the MX-5's twentieth anniversary, Mazda's Frankfurt-based team has taken a stab at building a roof- and window-less version of the car for their hometown show. Like other open-air MX-5 concepts, the Superlight has done away with the roof, windows and pillars, leaving the occupants completely open to the elements.
While cutting the roof off no doubt shed some pounds by itself, going that far likely wouldn't drop enough weight to consider the car a "superlight," so we expect that the swoopy, smoothed-out body work will also reveal copious amounts of lightweight materials. The fresh exterior look will be complemented by a new interior as well, likely to also be made out of lightweight materials to save weight.
With no roof, windshield, and ancillary components, the Superlight reportedly weighs in at around 2200 lbs. The slight build combined with the car's 126-hp 1.8L four-cylinder makes for a claimed 0 to 62 mph in 8.9 sec. Mazda's performance arm, Mazdaspeed, has also reportedly installed a bespoke exhaust for a little more oomph and reworked the suspension considerably for extra grip. Its brakes, wheels, and tires have all been uprated for track duty. While it may serve as a demonstration of future designs, it's not likely this concept will ever see production.