Mazda has given SEMA goers something to get excited about with a pair of MX-5 Miata concepts. The MX-5 Miata Spyder Concept has done away with the standard car’s folding soft top or retractable hard top mechanism in favor of a lightweight grenadine-red canvas covering à la Porsche’s Boxster Spyder. The look lends the already lithe roadster an even more svelte appearance, and the Spyder’s 17-inch Advan alloys and Mazdaspeed coilovers ensure that the driver should have plenty of fun when the road turns twisty. Mazda has also rolled in quite a few excellent details, including etched brushed stainless Spyder badging on the front fenders and a clean MX-5 Spyder logo on the passenger-side dash.

While the 2.0-liter MZR four-cylinder underhood looks familiar, Mazda says the MX-5 Spyder runs on isobutanol, the same biofuel that powers in Mazda’s/Dyson Racing ALMS car. To further the company’s “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom” effort, the Spyder also has a lightweight lithium ion battery, among other changes.

Does the Spyder have a chance at production? Well, probably not the isobutanol powertrain, but a lighter model with a similar top configuration might have a shot. As Mazda’s design director, Derek Jenkins, notes “…because the stock models are extraordinarily versatile, who’s to say some elements of these SEMA concepts can’t be ready for public consumption?” Sign us up.

The MX-5 Super 20 – which debuted last year – brings more of a motorsports flavor to the convertible. A fixed hardtop has replaced the standard folding mechanism and the interior has been stripped bare in favor of a full roll cage. Additional power comes courtesy of a DPTUNE ECU reflash, a 304-stainless steel header and exhaust. Racing Beat hollow front and rear sway bars, Mazdaspeed coilovers and a Mazdaspeed shock tower brace help lend sharper handling, too.

Continue reading Mazda MX-5 Miata Spyder and Super 20 Concepts land in Las Vegas

Mazda MX-5 Miata Spyder and Super 20 Concepts land in Las Vegas originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The internet is afire with word that BMW is planning to bring a small convertible concept to the 2011 Geneva Motor Show next month. According to The Age, the car may be our first look at what the company has planned for a sub-Z4 model designed to spar with the Mazda MX-5 and the host of shared-platform convertibles that the Volkswagen army is rumored to be slaving over. A representative from BMW supposedly confirmed that a baby drop top will be the company’s star attraction in Geneva this year.

BMW, meanwhile, says that the concept car itself will not go into production, but that some elements of the design may show up in future products down the line. The Age is reporting that the concept will make use of some fairly outrageous design cues, including the retractable doors of the ever-awesome Z1.

Murkier still is what kind of drivetrain will find its way under the concept’s hood. This could be a good excuse for BMW to start strutting its new front-wheel-drive bent or even to play around with a compact hybrid set up. Either way, we’ll find out in a few short weeks. Thanks for the tip, Mark!

[Source: The Age]

Report: BMW readying sub-Z4 Miata fighter for Geneva reveal? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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