How Fast Is the 2016 MX-5?

At CorkSport, we can’t wait for the new 2016 MX-5.

We pre-ordered ours as soon as the sale went live, and we’ve been planning new Miata parts and upgrades since we first heard about the launch. The actual R&D has to wait until we have the MX-5 in our garage, but that hasn’t hampered our excitement—especially when we read the reviews of the lucky first drivers, who all love the car’s new updates.

This little roadster has been turning heads since it first hit the roads. During a recent balance test, Dave Coleman, the Miata Product Manager, said, “The Miata really is the most pure, elemental, simple, straightforward sports car you can get.” Whether you own one or not, it’s hard to disagree that the MX-5 is a beautiful piece of engineering. Just about every Miata model looks pretty and effortless—but at CorkSport we always want to know: How does it fare on the road? (Or better yet, at the track?)

We love speed, power, and handling at CorkSport, and most our products are designed to give your Mazda the most boost and control possible. From all of its initial reviews, it sounds like the new MX-5 engineers had similar aspirations, and from the videos we’ve seen, it looks like they succeeded.

Mazda UK just released a test drive video, showing how the new 2016 MX-5 compares to the original 1990 MkI. Given how much has changed in engine technology over the past 25 years, they gave the original a nice 4-second head start, just to make things fair. The result reveals the beauty of both designs—and promises viewers that the new Miata will be just as fun (and great) to drive as the first one.

If that doesn’t make you want to hit the track in a Miata, nothing will. We can’t wait to do tests of our own, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

CorkSport

January 20, 2015December 18, 2017

Mazda Rumors – Mazdaspeed Cx3, Merger, Best Year Ever?

Oh man, so much goodness that we can’t help but be ecstatic!

With news rolling in about Mazda in the past month we have hardly been able to keep our heads. To start with, lets start with a beautiful concept from Mazdaspeed, the CX3 Racing.

What we love about this concept

Not only does it look awesome, but also the fact that it sort of reminds us of a Mazda 3…. but smaller, and thus lighter, and…. with the possibility of AWD. Yes, I said AWD since the CX3 is a CUV it will be offered with AWD which we all know makes most of us get a little excited about the friction created from extra rubber traction.

P.S. This wasn’t just an imagined concept, they actually made this thing for the Tokyo Auto Show. See more real-live photos here: Tokyo Auto Salon

Possible Merger on the Horizon?

So enough of that, lets get some more juicy news with the latest that Jalopnik is talking about…. a possible merger between Fiat Chrysler and Mazda? Obviously we already have heard that there are shared development of the latest ND MX-5 Miata (and it looks GREAT need we remind you?) that Fiat/Alfa should be making a version of, but we hadn’t heard anything of a merge.

“Fiat-Chrysler could merge with a U.S. company, but that seems unlikely… That leaves the Japanese and the two frontrunners are Mazda and Suzuki… it seems like Mazda is the obvious choice. ”

Now honestly why Fit-Chrysler and Mazda would want to merge is beyond me. I personally can’t see it benefiting Mazda. The differences in the two companies seems overwhelming and in my opinion the reason Mazda has been doing so great lately is the fact that they are a small player with no red-tape to follow. Remember those Ford years? Not the best for Mazda design or ingenuity. All told, I highly doubt this is anything more than one journalists hopes/ideas.

Speaking of Mazda doing well though, who isn’t absolutly stoked and excited that Mazda had it’s best year since 1994 this year?! That is awesome. Really we can see why, a beautiful lineup of amazing cars that continues to gain traction due to great design, economy and most of all, they are all a blast to drive. The CX-5 has been selling extremely well along with the Mazda3 and Mazda6! According to Jalopnik:

“Strong sellers for Mazda include the Mazda3, which had its second-best December ever, and the Mazda CX-5, which had its best December ever, period. The Mazda6 also had its best year since 2007. ”

Yes, yes and yes again! We can get behind this. In case you didn’t realize though, when Mazda does well, we all do well! The more their staple cars sell well the more money they can put towards developing a new Mazdaspeed and/or an awesome surprise Rotary!

Keep it up Mazda, you know we will be your fans as long as you keep doing what you are doing!

September 3, 2014September 3, 2014

Official 2016 Mazda Miata MX5 Revelead

The 2016 Miata is Finally Here!

There is no official word on the engine, weight, or other specs yet, so we will just leave these photos here.

August 27, 2014February 21, 2018

Mazdaspeed 3 Coming in 2017 with AWD!

UPDATE: Masahiro Moro, president of Mazda USA, called the Mazdaspeed 3 “childish” in execution. What does that mean for the future of the Mazdaspeed model? Find out.

According to Ryan Beene at Autonews.com the next Mazdaspeed is planned for 2017. At first glance we might assume that this is purely more rumors, but upon further inspection we see that there might be cause to believe him.

Why?

First of all, Ryan Beene has been vouched for by several other automotive sites and journalists. Over at thetruthaboutcars.com they state “Having known Beene for a number of years, I can say that his information is to be trusted more than the typical buff book “anonymous sources” accompanied by some fanciful colored pencil sketch or computer rendering.” Jalopnik.com also states: “Automotive News’ Ryan Beene, who has covered Mazda in depth, is rather reliable. This is a good thing.”

Shop Mazdaspeed 3 Performance Parts Now

So apparently we should listen. We also see some of the first reasonable explanations for AWD and a Turbo. As we have discussed previously, the new Mazdaspeed will most likely share the AWD from the CX5 platform. See the article here: //corksport.com/blog/will-there-be-a-new-mazdaspeed-3-with-all-wheel-drive/ where we also happen to quote Takeo Mariuchi, the program deputy manager as saying “from a technical point of view it’s not difficult to install a four wheel drive system”. We also showed some interesting photos showing the rear of the CX5 and 2014 Mazda 3 that appeared as though it would be rather simple to add the AWD.

Nonetheless we put our stamp of approval on this statement.

The second thing that he brings up, that we can stand behind, is the fact that he believes the engine will be the same as the one used in the CX-9 launching that year. This would not surprise us at all since it would help shave cost, and engineering work on Mazda’s behalf.

There is a lot more info in the article, so feel free to read the full article here: https://www.autonews.com/article/20140825/OEM04/308259975/mazda-making-big-changes-fast

I’ll summarize the rest of his interesting points here otherwise:

Mazda 2: Redesigned Mazda 2 production starts in November and he expects a sportier Mazda2 with a modified intake and exhaust as an option.

Mazda 5: This will get killed off by 2015 due to lack of interest.

Mazda 6: An interior redesign for 2016, new center console, smaller dash that sits lower. Similar to the Mazda3.

Mx-5 Miata: Debuts in one week. Will have a SkyActiv 2.0L liter engine (no word of a turbo). More exciting though is the news that Mazda is planning a fastback-style hardtop version.

Rotary RX-7 or Rx-9: They are still working on it, should be 2 seats, not 4. No word on when.

CX-3: This should go on sale next June. Built on the same platform as the Mazda2.

CX-5: Fresh interior for 2016 and new front and headlights.

CX-9: Redesign for 2017 with new KODO language. Turbo Engine 2.5L that will be the same as the Mazdaspeed 3.

Of course, Ryan still doesn’t quote any sources or give any proof, but we definitely are willing to believe all that he says!

-Spencer@CorkSport

Check out the latest Mazdaspeed 3 performance parts

August 20, 2014September 13, 2018

All the 2016 Mazda MX5 Renderings We Can Find

Renderings, Concepts, Images and Rumors about the Next MX5

Mazda recently released an official image of the next 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata. Sadly, it is blanketed. So though we can tell the overall shape of the car (spoiler alert, it looks like a car) we can’t see much else. What we can do though is speculate.

Here is the official Mazda image:

Now, though we all probably want a fancy, blanket draped MX-5, I have a feeling that some of us plan to actually drive it, and not keep it under wraps in our garage. So, I decided to pull from the web some next generatino renderings of the MX-5. Which one do you think most resembles Mazda’s official image?

If you forgot, make sure to head over and check out the first and only shots of the Camoflouge 2016 Miata here: https://www.corksport.com/blog/2015-2016-mazda-miata-mx5-spy-shots/

But, moving on. If you’ve had enough of renderings, let’s check out the engine. This shot of an engine bay is supposedly from a source that found the little Miata mule at a port on the west coast months ago. The big news here is that it’s a turbo. The question, is if this is going in the Miata for real, or if it’s going in the Fiat/Alfa since Mazda has partnered with them. (source)

So, though we leave you today with nothing but more rumors and speculation, we again see some pretty solid evidence of a good looking, and possibly turbocharged, 2016 MX5 Miata.

Oh, and don’t forget this video from Mazda.

(P.S. do you hear a turbo?)

Until Next Time

-Spencer