2006 Mazda Miata Preview

Mazda unveils third generation Miata

Article by Alex Law (Auto123.com),

Thursday, February 24, 2005

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Mazda unveils third generation Miata

Fans of the classic Mazda MX-5 Miata can relax -- the third edition that's coming along this year involves no significant departure from the first two.

2006 Mazda Miata (photo: Mazda)

The new Miata is only 20-mm longer to accommodate expanding consumer physiques and 10-kg heavier to accommodate some extra technology, so the general principle of the compact, balanced (50:50) two-seat roadster with a small but responsive engine has been maintained.

In its ''relentless pursuit of fun'' while creating the third Miata, Mazda focused on ''evolving the lightweight sports car concept.''

Program manager Takao Kijima not only looked ahead to understand how the motoring world's needs had changed since the original Miata was launched, he also ''looked back to pinpoint and focus on what made this Mazda so special in the eyes and hands of car enthusiasts the world over.''

In Japanese, the secret to the Miata's success in described as ''Jinba Ittai'' (gin-buy ee-tie), which translates directly to ''rider and horse as one.''

2006 Mazda Miata (photo: Mazda)

This feeling is said to be critical to performing well in a long-standing artistic ritual ceremony called "Yabusame,'' with involves an archer on horseback galloping past a target. If the archer and horse don't move as one with ''natural two-way communication and a high degree of synergy in their alliance,'' there's little chance of hitting a bulls-eye.

"Yabusame," a longstanding artistic ritual ceremony in Japan, truly embodies the essence of Jinba Ittai (pronounced gin-buy ee-tie). An archer mounted on horseback gallops past a target and shoots an arrow. To achieve a bull's eye, the archer and horse must move as one. There must be a natural two-way communication and a high degree of synergy in their alliance.

More popular analogies of Jinba Ittai would include a driver in a single-seat, open-wheel race car, and a rider on a high-performance sport motorcycle.

In Miata, this means no great 0-100 kmh times or excellent lap times on a track, but ''on the feel of a responsive machine that compliments any driver.''

2006 Mazda Miata (photo: Mazda)

As a result, says Kijima, factors of secondary importance in other cars -- such as the way the open cockpit is bathed in sunshine and seasonal aroma of fresh air -- top the Mazda MX-5's list of major attributes.

From the more than 700,000 units of the first two models that went out into the world and their owners, Kijima and his development team learned that there were six key categories that ''guided the effort towards the desired oneness.''

They are styling (inside and outside), touching (every aspect concerned with the tactile sense), listening (dominated by the engine's voice but also encompassing wind effects), cornering (handling dynamics), driving (everything from ride quality to acceleration response), and braking.