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As the well-known saying goes, "simplify, then add lightness." That's Colin Chapman, of Lotus engineering fame. Now here's Mazda announcing for the first time the 2016 MX-5 Miata's much-hyped lower curb weight: It "has been reduced to 2332 pounds." Wait, a modern car that is not only smaller than the model it replaces, but lighter, too? Guess the new saying is "Skyactiv-fy, then add Zoom-Zoom"-because lightness is covered.
Skyactiv, of course, is Mazda's highly touted suite of weight-saving technologies and fuel-economy-boosting tricks, and like the CX-5 and the latest Mazda 3 and 6, the 2016 Miata was designed with Skyactiv enhancements baked in. (Oh, and lots of aluminum in places the old car used steel.) Mazda has been adamant that the new Miata would not only weigh less than the outgoing model, but also that it would cut enough pounds to achieve weight parity with the first-generation car. At 2332 pounds, the manual-transmission, U.S.-spec, 2016 Miata isn't as light as the global version-claimed to be 2200 pounds-but our model comes with a bigger, 2.0-liter engine. Still, whoa. For comparison's sake, the Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S twins are 300 pounds heavier.
More exciting is how the new Miata compares to old Miatas. Should Mazda's 2332-pound figure check out when we get a 2016 Miata on our own scales for a test, it (with standard anti-lock brakes, side airbags, traction control, stiffer structure, and all) would weigh just two pounds more than a 1994 model we tested. Granted, the original 1990 Miata was lighter still (2210 on our scales), but in 1994 Mazda added a passenger-side airbag, additional underbody bracing, and side-impact door beams to meet crash regulations, making it a better comparison to today's car. In fact, we tested two other 1994 Miatas, and both (one was even the lightweight, manual-steering-equipped R model) were heavier than Mazda's claim for the new car. So, too, was a second-generation 1999 Miata we tested, as well as every fourth-gen model.
Not that we particularly care, but Mazda says the automatic-equipped 2016 Miata will, commendably, weigh just 49 pounds more than the stick-shift version; let that tidbit flow in one ear and out the other, because every Miata should have three pedals and an H-pattern.
If it seems unnecessary to nerd out over a tiny roadster's tiny curb weight, don't worry, it doesn't really color our feelings on the car. After all, we weren't yet aware of the Miata's final weight figures when we drove it for the first time. Spoiler alert: We loved it. We didn't know its weight, but we could feel the absence of mass from the first corner. Other manufacturers take note, this is how you redesign a car.
Text Source http://blog.caranddriver.com/2016-m...d-guess-how-many-previous-miatas-are-heavier/