Not long after showing the facelifted “ND3” MX-5 Miata, Mazda is preparing to pull the wraps off a new roadster-related concept. The automaker announced Tuesday that its Japanese Mobility Show stand will be dedicated to the MX-5, with both new and old models on display, plus a “new concept car designed to symbolize the exhibit theme.”
From the teaser image released, this concept appears to be related to a scissor-door coupe concept Mazda showed last year. The rear lights are almost identical. Mazda revealed the catchily named “Vision Study Model” (pictured below) as part of a presentation on its electrification plans for the future.
We expect that the current ND Miata will live on for a few more years, which is unusually long for a modern production car, but not unheard of for the Miata. The third-generation NC was produced for 10 years, and the ND hasn’t quite hit that milestone. Mazda has said the next-generation Miata will be electrified in some capacity, and we suspect that means it’ll have some level of hybridization. The automaker aims for 25 percent of its offerings to be full EV by 2030, and the rest to have some sort of electric element.
In any case, Mazda has no intention to kill the MX-5 Miata, even as we switch toward EVs. A European Mazda executive said last year the sports car will “continue to exist forever.” That’s good, because we can’t imagine a world without the Miata.
Senior Reporter
A car enthusiast since childhood, Chris Perkins is Road & Track’s engineering nerd and Porsche apologist. He joined the staff in 2016 and no one has figured out a way to fire him since. He street-parks a Porsche Boxster in Brooklyn, New York, much to the horror of everyone who sees the car, not least the author himself. He also insists he’s not a convertible person, despite owning three.
