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Mazda Mx-5 Roadster Coupe Unveiled In London


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Mazda officially unveiled the MX-5 Roadster Coupe this morning at the British International Motor Show, and it has the makings of a big winner. In the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, where rough winters are enough to scare off some convertible shoppers, this car is going to find many friends. If you're willing to accept the weight penalty for the retractable hardtop -- the Roadster Coupe weighs 81.5 pounds more than the standard MX-5 Roadster -- you'll be hard-pressed to find a four-season roadster this good.

 

The folding hardtop looks simply fantastic when closed, and it retracts in just 12 seconds. Like the soft-top MX-5, the driver has to manually unlock the center-mounted latch on the windshield and then press a button to let the motors work the rest of the magic. At first glance, it looks pretty much like any other MX-5 on the road with the top down (there are subtle differences). The roof itself is ingenious, folding into 3 sections that stow behind the seats, leaving trunk space unaffected. Considering the MX-5's size and its limited trunk space to begin with, this is a packaging triumph, and it gives dealers a great selling point to work with beyond the obvious benefits of the hardtop itself.

 

The Roadster Coupe is essentially as compact as the regular MX-5, measuring just 10mm taller at the roofline. Some of the dimensions in the rear deck area have also changed to accommodate the hardtop. The bootlid design causes the leading edge of the rear deck to be 40mm higher than what it is on the soft-top car. To compensate, Mazda raised the trailing edge 20mm and made the rear fender bulges reach higher. The upshot of the changes is that the Roadster Coupe has a slightly more muscular look at the rear. The high-mount brake light has also been redesigned.

 

Expanding the size of the roof opening would have compromised body stiffness, so the hardtop uses the same cutout as the soft roof. Reinforcements in the rear shore things up and give the Roadster Coupe stiffness on par with the standard car.

 

Dynamically, the hardtop car does differ from its stablemate. The added weight of the new roof system alters front/rear weight distribution, center of gravity, and front/rear stiffness balance. Mazda has retuned the suspension to compensate for these changes, and the result is that the MX-5 Roadster Coupe has a ride that is more refined (read: softer) than that of the MX-5 Roadster. In all honesty, most of the buyers of the Roadster Coupe probably won't care about this. In fact, some may welcome the change. If they simply must have a more sporting ride, the soft-top MX-5 is there for the taking.

 

Powertrain options are the same as those available for the MX-5 Roadster. By adding the Roadster Coupe to the MX-5 family of cars, Mazda has covered all the bases. Sure, there are trade-offs you make when you select one over the other, but that's to be expected. Roadster shoppers will now have two outstanding products to choose from at Mazda showrooms. No matter how you spin it, that's a good thing.

 

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