What's the news?
Just when you thought that the Mazda MX-5 couldn't get any more adorable, Mazda goes and creates this, the MX-5 RF - or 'Retractable Fastback.' The new car builds on the success of the previous generation MX-5 Roadster-Coupe model, which basically used a hard fibreglass shell version of the standard car's folding cloth roof and quickly became the best-selling MX-5 variant.
This time, Mazda is doing something rather different, and seems to be taking seventies inspiration from the retro-cool Porsche 911 Targa, by using a targa-style buttressed rear section of roof that stays in place, while the central panel retracts into the boot lid.
By doing so, Mazda has created a car quite different in character to the standard MX-5 - the retention of the rear pillars and screen gives the car a much more coupe-like look when the roof is in place. It's really quite gorgeous.
The roof stows away 'compactly and efficiently'' says Mazda, and boot space remains the same as on the soft-top. The roof mechanism works at speeds of up to 10km/h and we're told that the weight penalty is circa 50kg. The RF gets the same 1.5- or 2.0-litre engines as the soft-top MX-5, but will also be available with an automatic transmission.
This version will also be available with some new paint options, including the 'machine grey' colour seen on the show car, which Mazda says 'gives the impression that the vehicle's body was sculpted from a solid block of steel.'
No word on Irish prices yet, although doubtless it will be more expensive than the soft-top.