Well its not a body is it?

 

The BRZ electric steering is quite nice in my not so expert opinion, so I'm cool with that. Especially the simplicity of it.

If its under 2000lbs new, can be modded without a high priest and a quantum computer, and costs under 30K, I might just buy one and skip modding the 95.

I highly doubt it will be below 2000 LBs. I bet they got units mixed up and meant that some versions (probably a special package intended for SCCA or Spec Miata type stuff) will be below 1000KGs. I have no trouble believing that. But under 2000LBs with modern safety requirements and the ginormous wheel and tire packages requires some pretty big $$ by Miata standards. And hey, maybe they want to take some space from the vacuum left by the Elise in the 50Kish zone. Would not be the first time a Japanese sports car has moved way upmarket.

They know it needs a minimum of 200HP though. Mostly because the BRZ exists and base model Mustangs don't really suck anymore. So hopefully/probably it revs to 7500 or so with a 2L and does not run out of breath.

 

I'm curious to see how it stacks up to the FRS. I hope they get the front end right, sister saw a pre-production one being tested in Corpus.

 

It won't have 200hp. I am guessing around 170hp. It is far lighter than the brz/frs twins and mazda is just going to retune the 2.0 from the 3 for $$ reasons. It will likely have a similar or slightly better power to weight ratio as the brz.

 

Did you also notice the pretty billet aluminum clampy thing on the front shocks? I'm guessing thats a shock pot adapter from when they were doing development testing. Anyone disagree?

 

We were a good 2+ seconds a lap faster than the GT86 (or the FRS as you call them) with our 2010 NC-FL on a ~2 minute road course. Same tires, same race. As we add power it'll only become more embarrassing for the FRS. I can imagine the ND will be on par with that.

 

directional tires suggest miata will be mid-rear engine and fwd.

 

I see Mazda saw my polished PPF, bastards didn't give me credit!

I'll do a spit take if claimed <2k lbs is achieved.

 

With rear steer. I always liked how shopping carts handled when I push them backwards.

 

I agree. They don't need to do much to this car to make it faster than an FRS/BRZ. Those cars make 200hp at 7k, but peak torque is 151ft-lbs at 6600rpm. The 155hp at 6000rpm and 150lb-ft at 4000rpm of the 3's engine running 87 octane is already not far off; and has a better power curve. And that car is running this header:



I expect a much less restrictive design, thanks to the longitudinal mounting, for the miata. Not sure if the short tubes shown on the chassis actually represent anything from the final car.

With the ND weighing around 2300lbs, they need 167hp to match the BRZ. The extra compression, direct injection and dual VVT on the 2.0L will get it past that; hell, the 2.0L MZR is already there.

The crank is already forged in the 2.0L SA engine; I hope they raise the rev limit past 6800 for the ND.

 

I disagree. From the pictures I'm seeing, the "clampy thing" is probably to hold the dampers in place on the display.

 

I'm going to go with your answer. Cause I noticed them in the rear where its way more obvious that they go to the stands.

 

I have to admit, the way the rollerskate looks like the younger sister of the NA/NB makes me a little chubby.

I think they would generate a lot more interest if they offered a fastback option. But they won't because then it would be competing with the RX8 which would be unacceptable in Japan. (They'd be better off just killing the RX8.)

 

Those clamps are parts of the supports needed for display purposes. They hold the shocks in more-or-less the correct orientation. Otherwise they'll fall over.

Edit: oops, midtenn beat me to it.

 

They've got nothing on you Jeff. They should have consulted with your for the display. LOL.

 

Holy ****, I never thought I'd see a more convoluted and restrictive exhaust design than the stock particulate filter/n0x trap on my Jetta. Amazing what gains you get from removing that junk.

Right? Don't they know all you need is a chair from the 80's to display your ****!

 

regarding the engine comments above, I thought I read somewhere that they were considering moving to a 1.3T not the 2.0n/a ? Or is that just speculation at this point?

 

I forgot if I've read it somewhere else, but a semi-related question for Emilio:
Why don't you race NC's? Besides price-performance ratio vs NA/NB of course.

 

I don't like the way they feel, drive or look. Ride motions feel weird, bounce frequencies and roll center axis feel out of sync with wheelbase. That might stem from geometry optimized for a 500lb heavier RX8 with a 15" longer wheelbase, dunno. Can't feel the rear contact patches as distinctly as the NA/NB. My Z06 feels more like a big NA to me than NC. NC is good and also quick, just not my cup of tea.

 

That header is actually pretty badass. It's a tuned 4-2-1 dealie that, due to the additional scavenging it provides, allowed the compression ratio of that engine in the Mazda 3 to be bumped from 12:1 to 13:1 and still only need 87 octane.

It might look odd with the curlicues it makes, but that header works really well.