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Next Mazda MX-5 Miata to weigh a ton(ne), literally

Looking at recent spy shots of the fourth-generation Mazda Miata, it's obvious this sporty little roadster will grow in size compared to the current model, but it's also going on a diet. At the Tokyo Motor Show, Auto Motor und Sport sat down with Mazda executive Kiyoshi Fujiwara, who gave a little more insight into the Miata's redesign.
Fujiwara said that they're aiming for a curb weight of a tonne (metric ton), which is 1,000 kilograms or right around 2,200 pounds, for the next-generation Miata. This would make the roadster at least 300 pounds lighter than the current NC Miata, but still about 200 pounds heavier than the original NA.
There is no indication as to how Mazda will go about removing that much weight from the bigger car, but with as popular as the power retractable hard top (PHRT) model is on the current car, the new Miata may ditch this feature to lose its weight. Improving the power-to-weight ratio appears to be a key goal of the Mazda team, so we also wouldn't be surprised to see a more powerful engine underneath the longer hood.

Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrating Mazda this year [w/video]

Mazda gets to wear the crown and sash as the doubly honored marque for the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. The Japanese brand will be the focus of the Central Feature, the sculpture that sits outside Goodwood House, and its race cars will be the focus on the lawn, where there will be at least one representative from "every era of Mazda's motor sport achievement." The theme for this year's event is "Flat-out and fearless: racing on the edge." The showcase, of course, will be the 700-horsepower, rotary-engined 787B that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991. It will run up the 1.6-mile Hillclimb while a Mazda challenger from the World Rally Championship runs the Forest Rally Stage, joining Andros Trophy ice racing and sportscar racing Mazdas. The festival happens from June 25-28 this year, and there's a press release with more details down below the video recap from 2014 and Mazda 787B Le Mans lap. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Le Mans-winning 787B to headline fantastic Mazda line-up at FoS 2015 Feb 18, 2015 -- Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to have won the world's most prestigious motor race – the Le Mans 24 Hours – and the victorious rotary-engined 787B, with its distinctive sound, is certain to be a crowd favourite as it winds its way up Goodwood's iconic 1.16-mile Hillclimb at the Festival of Speed this year. The 787B is part of a fabulous collection of racing and road machines that will be brought to the Festival by Mazda, in the year in which the company is also being honoured by the iconic Central Feature outside Goodwood House. Further motor sport success has been achieved in touring cars, the World Rally Championship, Andros Trophy ice racing and sportscar competition in the USA – in which Mazda's pioneering SKYACTIV-D turbodiesel technology is breaking new ground currently. In fact, every era of Mazda's motor sport achievement will be marked by some incredible competition cars both on the Hillclimb and the Forest Rally Stage as we celebrate the FoS theme 'Flat-out and fearless; racing on the edge'. The Moving Motor Show on June 25, will also showcase many of the key models from Mazda's current range.

Watch this 1,500-hp Mazda MX-5 smoke a race track

In December 2014 we watched New Zealand drifter "Mad Mike" Whiddett assemble his RADBUL, an NC-series Mazda MX-5 Miata with a four-rotor engine aided by twin Garrett turbochargers. The Dr. Frankensteins at engine builders Pulse Performance expected their creation to be good for 1,500 horsepower. This year we get to watch Whiddett run the monster around Highlands Motorsports Park in New Zealand, brewing up enough tire smoke to set of fire alarms in the International Space Station. When the car was finished in February Pulse Performance put it on the dyno, toning down the boost because "the tires easily smoked the rollers." The result on the day was 1,032 horsepower from the 2.6-liter engine. When Whiddett campaigned it at the Forth Worth, TX round of this year's Formula Drift Pro Championship, he said tiny adjustments have a huge effect on the way the car behaves so they were still trying to find the right balance a few months into the season because of the testing limit outside of competition. Unsurprisingly, he also said the car "is so damn fast that I'm actually having trouble slowing down." RADBUL is the third in Whiddett's line of Mazda drift specials, after the RX-8 BADBUL and the RX-7 MADBUL. Check out the video above for the ballet, and for more, check out the behind-the-scenes and the 360-degree POV videos.