EXPLORER CAR: mazda mx5 yellow new best top

The MX-5, also known as Miata (pronounced /miˈɑːtə/) in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan, is a lightweight two-seater roadster, of front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show and kicked off a new era of low cost open-top two-seater sports cars not seen in the automotive industry since the 1970s. The MX-5 was conceived as a small roadster – with light weight and minimal mechanical complexity limited only by legal and safety requirements; technologically modern, but a philosophically direct descendant of the small British roadsters of the 1960s such as the Triumph Spitfire, Austin-Healey Sprite, MG Midget and Lotus Elan.

The second generation MX-5 (NB) was launched in 1998 and the current (NC) model having been in production since 2006, and it continues to be a best selling convertible and by February 2011, 900,000 MX-5s have been built and sold around the world

Since the launch of the third generation MX-5, Mazda consolidated worldwide marketing using the MX-5 name, though enthusiasts in the USA still refer to it as Miata, a name that means "reward" in Old High German.1 Generations and overview
2 From idea to production
2.1 Jinba ittai
3 First generation (NA)
3.1 M2 Special Editions
3.2 2011 BBR MX-5 Turbo
4 Second generation (NB)
4.1 MX-5 10th Anniversary Model (1999)
4.2 Facelift (2001)
4.3 Mazdaspeed MX-5 (2004)
5 Third generation (NC)
5.1 Facelift
5.2 MX-5 Superlight (2009)
5.3 MX-5 20th Anniversary Edition (2010)
6 Transmissions
7 Safety
8 Production numbers and details
9 Technical specifications
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
The MX5's first generation, the NA, sold over 400,000 units from 1989 to 1997 – with a 1.6 L (98 cu in) straight-4 engine to 1993, a 1.8 L (110 cu in) engine thereafter (with a de-tuned 1.6 as a budget option in some markets) – recognizable by its pop-up headlights. The second generation (NB) was introduced in 1998 with a slight increase in engine power; it can be recognized by the fixed headlights and the glass rear window. The third generation (NC) was introduced in 2005 with a 2.0 L (120 cu in) engine.It was launched at a time when production of small roadsters had fallen into almost total disuse. The Alfa Romeo Spider was the only comparable volume model in production at the time of the MX-5's launch. Just a decade earlier, a whole host of similar models - notably the MG B, Triumph TR7, Triumph Spitfire and Fiat Spider - had been available.

Mazda MX5