2005 Mazda Rx-8 Shinka Coupe 4-door 1.3l on 2040-cars

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Britain's BBR already promising 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata with 200+ horsepower

The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata is one of Autoblog's most anticipated cars to drive this year, and with good reason. Thanks to svelte, angular styling, the promise of less weight, the possibility of more power and all at a fairly affordable price, it represents pure, automotive enjoyment. Mazda is still not saying exactly how much power the new Miata's 2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder engine will make, but that isn't keeping British tuner BBR from already working out how to squeeze even more ponies from the mill – potentially as much as 200 horsepower with natural aspiration. The company bought a Mazda3 for access to its 2.0-liter Skyactiv and went to work on it. "Our objective with the all-new MX-5 is to achieve the same 200 bhp output that we can easily enjoy with simple bolt-on components on the current 2.0-litre NC model, before building on further power upgrades using forced induction," said Neil McKay of BBR in the company's release. The 3's version of the engine is rated at 155 hp and 150 pound-feet of torque but is expected to be tuned for additional grunt for the droptop. Still, it gives BBR something to experiment with before the real thing is available. The tuner also got the opportunity to take a look at a pre-production 2016 Miata and is already developing "subtle bodywork alterations" for the upcoming convertible. You can get a taste for the company's plans with the rendering above. It sports tinted lights, a front lip spoiler, lower side sills and a tiny rear spoiler. Scroll down to read more about BBR's plans in the official announcement. BBR UNVEILS STUNNING 200 BHP ALL-NEW MAZDA MX-5 CONCEPT Despite deliveries not scheduled to begin until July, legendary Mazda performance tuner BBR is making great progress with both its visual concept and powertrain development for the all-new MX-5. "A program of detailed performance enhancements has already commenced at our Brackley base," says BBR's Neil Mckay, "thanks to our investment in a 2.0-litre Skyactiv powered Mazda 3. Our objective with the all-new MX-5 is to achieve the same 200 bhp output that we can easily enjoy with simple bolt-on components on the current 2.0-litre NC model, before building on further power upgrades using forced induction." Having viewed a pre-production version of the car BBR is also working hard on visual enhancements to add more presence to the svelte lines of the all-new MX-5.

44 Miatas engaged to spell happiness from above

We've seen all manner of ways to propose marriage, from the usual candlelit dinner to the Jumbotron at the big game. A friend of ours recently proposed with his a barbershop quartet singing backup. But this has to be a new one - and one that automotive enthusiasts would probably find even more touching than a sky-writing biplane.
A member of the Miata.net forum recently asked other MX-5 enthusiasts to help him pop the big question to his bride-to-be. He got 31 Miatas together and needed just four more, but after appealing to his fellow roadster fans, over 40 turned up in the parking lot at the local high school.
The groom-to-be runs an aerial photography business and used an unmanned drone which his girlfriend thought would be shooting some local real estate properties when it flew over the parking lot and captured the image you see above with 44 little roadsters spelling out "Marry Me?" The answer, in case you were wondering, was a resounding "Yes!" How could she not, after all, when those Mazda convertibles are just so darn adorable? Now they'll just need to figure out what they'll be driving to the chapel on the big day.

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.