250 lbs is impressive on a Miata, that's 10% weight savings on an already lightweight car to begin with, and finished product looks.. finished. Not sure I could live with love bugs in my teeth though.
Stripping out the interior of a car to make it lighter isn't necessarily a new concept, but Mazda wanted to see just how far they could push that envelope with its NC-chassis MX-5.
Built in 2010 to celebrate 20 years of the MX-5, the MX-5 Superlight Version does without a windshield, a roof and just about every potential creature comfort. All of those weight savings brought the curb weight down to around 2200 pounds.
That's about 250 pounds lighter than a standard NC-chassis and only about a hundred pounds heavier than a first-generation Miata.
No significant changes were made to the powerplant and drivetrain, as the Superlight came with the 125-horsepower, 1.8-liter MZR engine standard in European MX-5 mated to a production five-speed manual transmission.
Should more MX-5s come from the factory without a windshield?
250 lbs is impressive on a Miata, that's 10% weight savings on an already lightweight car to begin with, and finished product looks.. finished. Not sure I could live with love bugs in my teeth though.
Andrew Polasek said:250 lbs is impressive on a Miata, that's 10% weight savings on an already lightweight car to begin with, and finished product looks.. finished. Not sure I could live with love bugs in my teeth though.
Add 5lbs back in with a lexan fly screen. A six or eight inch tall screen, properly adjusted, would stave off the majority of critters in your teeth.
I love the look of that Miata, though... (slow whistles appreciatively)
IIRC first gen 1.6L Miatas were nowhere close to 2300 lbs. A BP4W swap into an NA chassis give you the same power/weight ratio or better, and you get a windshield. That speedster is still pretty cool though.
Colin Wood said:Should more MX-5s come from the factory without a windshield?
I would say no. The constant buffeting and need to wear goggles would kill a lot of the fun, for me at least.
11/10. I've long fantasized about a street car with no windshield.
Miatae, and many (most?) other roadsters, tend to look GREAT without a windshield. However, I like the idea more than I think I would like the reality of it...And while I liked this treatment on the NC, I liked it better on the ND.
In reply to Driven5 :
Ooohhh yes. Looks really good on the ND!
The styling looks incongruous to me; mainly because the seats and roll hoops/fairings are noticeably higher the the cowl, for me a low screen would go a long way toward making them look better.
I could take or leave the speedster look, but I do love that brown interior.
I'm a fan. Then again, I did do this in my COVID-19 lockdown boredom:
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