GALLERY: Mazda MX-5 through the years; NA, NB, NC - Paul Tan's Automotive News
At the launch of the new fourth-generation ND Mazda MX-5 on Friday, local distributor Bermaz also corralled each of the two-seater roadster’s forebears, resplendent – like their highly-awaited offspring – in red. Six years later, Hall, now a product planner at Mazda USA, was given the green light to develop the car – a back-to-basics front-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car built around the Japanese credo of Jinba Ittai , or “horse and rider as one. Fast forward to present day, and against all odds – and despite what everyone said about the dearth of buyers for such a thing – the Mazda MX-5 became something of a phenomenon. It wasn’t hard to see why: underneath the sleek-but-derivative styling (the pop-up headlights, oval air intake and even the valve covers were modelled after the original Lotus Elan) sat a 1. 6 litre naturally-aspirated four-pot sending 115 hp to... Source: paultan.org
