The entire automotive world is changing, but the Mazda MX-5 Miata is just right as it is. Naturally, Miata fans worry about their beloved roadster changing too much.
And make no mistake — the steady march of electrification threatens the Miata’s character.
The Simplest Mainstream Car
What makes the MX-5 great is its simplicity and its light weight. It’s one of the greatest cars of all time because Mazda engineers didn’t try to make it all things to all people. They committed to one idea — a lightweight roadster barely serviceable as an everyday car — and made sure that concept drove every decision, from what powerplant drove it to what luxuries were worth offering.
Electric vehicles (EVs) aren’t light. They can be extraordinary performance cars, but the massive weight of their lithium-ion batteries rules out a Miata-like featherweight — at least until someone perfects lighter solid-state batteries.
So how will Mazda build a Miata for the electric age?
The company isn’t sure yet. But it plans to have an answer by 2026.
Mazda’s director and senior managing executive officer Yasuhiro Aoyama tells Australia’s WhichCar, “It will, at the time, be some kind of electrification, so we need to investigate the most appropriate strategy for the future MX-5 which will not betray our passionate fans’ expectations.”
The 2026 date is locked in, Aoyama says, thanks to new European emissions standards that take effect in July of 2025.
Electrified; Maybe Not Electric
The word “electrification” doesn’t mean the car will be purely electric. It can refer to hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains as well. The smaller, lighter batteries of plug-in hybrids might give engineers more flexibility to reduce emissions and keep the lightweight, toss-it-into-corners-as-sloppily-as-you-want character that Mazda design chief Akira Tamatani calls “MX-5-ness.”
Ironically, Mercedes may have paved the way with some of the heaviest cars on the market. The Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance, revealed for the first time last night, uses its plug-in hybrid features not to maximize range but to provide a surge of power that helps a car as heavy as two Miata models get from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds.
A similar but scaled-down approach could help Mazda build an electrified Miata that still feels just right. The added weight of the batteries could even be offset with a smaller engine, counting on the electrification to make up for any lost horsepower.
But we’re speculating. And speculating is risky.
We Were Wrong — No New RX-7 For Now
Not long ago, Mazda released a design concept — the Vision Study — alongside (scant) details on its plans to go electric.
We speculated that it could be the basis of a new RX-7. It isn’t, Tamatani tells WhichCar.
“Please take it as an image, just an image,” he says.
“We have this passion to create that type of vehicle, that’s the message we want to say. But will we make production vehicles made from that? We still haven’t really decided.”
