NEW MX-5/Miata pics revealed
02-21-2005, 01:27 PM
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02-21-2005, 02:01 PM
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RX8 RX8!
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Originally Posted by shaolin
Damn it looks sexy! Reminds me of the old NA.
I'm glad it didn't look like a baby RX-8.
I'm glad it didn't look like a baby RX-8.
The front looks kind of bland. It needs an "edge."
02-21-2005, 02:25 PM
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I like it. The interior seems quite nice. The round hood is a littly too funky for me though. And I still prefer the exterior look of the original Miata the best.
02-21-2005, 03:39 PM
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That car looks to "blah" if you ask me.....it needs more edge and style...that car has no nice lines to it. Looks just like the current miata with flared fenders...but on the positive side, the interior is HOTT!!!
02-21-2005, 04:06 PM
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Looks like an Audi TT to me. I was hoping for an MSM with more headroom, but that's not it. I think they went out of their way to make sure it doesn't look like an 8.
02-21-2005, 04:37 PM
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IF those pics are real, I think mazda is going to have a hard time selling those with the Solstice and Sky comming out the same time. Unless this new miata out performs the other 2 by a large margin, I dont think I would buy one.
02-21-2005, 06:40 PM
#23
If this is it; and it does look legit, I think the boys (And girls perhaps) should be given a round of applause for a job well done. A lot of you have no idea how hard it is to please the original Miata crowd in terms of what they expect from future renditions of their cars. The second generation was accused of losing it's edge by ironically becoming to edgy. It lost it's timeless curves to some degree. This one invokes the spirit of the first one without looking like an old design.
02-21-2005, 06:46 PM
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Current Miata is sleeker but with curves that lack a purpose. The result is a pleasant looking car that is almost too contrived. For example, the current Miata's curvy, slender rear deck that rises in the middle is kind of misplaced because it is a design element that is typically supposed to create a stronger looking rear but, because it is just a part of the overall attempt to make the car curvier, ends up looking feminine. The Z4 has a similar and even more misplaced bump in the center of its rear that is unnecessary and detracts from the flow of the lines.
If those are really the final version of the new Miata, it's a winner. The lines flow yet are strong, not merely feminine. If the first generation was called elegant and classic in its flowing simplicity, this one is the same but add the phrase "stronger in its lines." This one is the real successor to the first generation. The "perimeter circle" hood line is a first. Notice how that semicircle line is mirrored by the hard edge line on the front bumper. The two lines complement each other, thereby giving each purpose in addition to just being plain different. If the hoodline were by itself, it would have been called interesting but contrived. Smart decision not to go with the angular headlights in the RX8 and other new Mazdas. What some have complained as characterless headlights is, in my opinion, a good design decision, because they are classic and understated at surface level, but actually accentuate the unique hood and bumper edge line. The hood and bumper lines in turn put focus back on the apparently understated headlight shape. It's an interplay of shapes that I've never seen before. Simple taillights. No more rise in the center of the rear deck. Beautiful fenders done better than on the Ibuki concept. Distinctive and classy chromed seat back/roll bars like that of the Z4. Beautiful interior that can't be touched by the Z4 or Saturn Sky. Simply classier looking. Saturn had to go the way of the embellished Opel/Lotus route and that's great. But, if this is really the final version of the new Miata, it's a winner. The Solstice and Sky can not touch it in any exterior or interior design element. Those two cars will get their share of sales but the new Miata will dominate. The Mazda designers, this time, could not have done a better job. Overall shape is simple but superb. Detail design elements that could have gone various ways were decided on purposefully and, in my opinion, correctly.
The car retains many of the key elements of the Ibuki concept that so many feared would be lost while improving the overall look. Unbelievable. An example of the deliberate detail decisions is the fact the semicircle "indentation" in the middle of the hood (the one on our RX8 is rotary shaped) is not continued into the top of the dashboard inside the car, as it is in the Ibuki. There are enough of these "pill" or "semi-pill" shapes on the front of the car and in the headlights. One could have continued the motif into the dashboard, but it wasn't necessary. By taking that element out, Mazda decided to retain a classic-looking but freshened interior. Thus the designers deliberately chose to allow the exterior to be avant-garde and the interior to be classic, providing a pleasing but not overdone contrast rather than have both exterior and interior overpower with contemporary, avant-garde elements. If you want to see such a combination done wrong, just look to BMW. The best looking exterior by BMW is the Z4 but it is nearly ruined by the edgy and cold contemporary interior that actually seems to lack enough detail elements. This Miata's interior clearly retains a fresh but classic warmth.
Who is the chief designer? Is he a new person? The guy is only going to move on up. I could not have done a better job myself.
If those are really the final version of the new Miata, it's a winner. The lines flow yet are strong, not merely feminine. If the first generation was called elegant and classic in its flowing simplicity, this one is the same but add the phrase "stronger in its lines." This one is the real successor to the first generation. The "perimeter circle" hood line is a first. Notice how that semicircle line is mirrored by the hard edge line on the front bumper. The two lines complement each other, thereby giving each purpose in addition to just being plain different. If the hoodline were by itself, it would have been called interesting but contrived. Smart decision not to go with the angular headlights in the RX8 and other new Mazdas. What some have complained as characterless headlights is, in my opinion, a good design decision, because they are classic and understated at surface level, but actually accentuate the unique hood and bumper edge line. The hood and bumper lines in turn put focus back on the apparently understated headlight shape. It's an interplay of shapes that I've never seen before. Simple taillights. No more rise in the center of the rear deck. Beautiful fenders done better than on the Ibuki concept. Distinctive and classy chromed seat back/roll bars like that of the Z4. Beautiful interior that can't be touched by the Z4 or Saturn Sky. Simply classier looking. Saturn had to go the way of the embellished Opel/Lotus route and that's great. But, if this is really the final version of the new Miata, it's a winner. The Solstice and Sky can not touch it in any exterior or interior design element. Those two cars will get their share of sales but the new Miata will dominate. The Mazda designers, this time, could not have done a better job. Overall shape is simple but superb. Detail design elements that could have gone various ways were decided on purposefully and, in my opinion, correctly.
The car retains many of the key elements of the Ibuki concept that so many feared would be lost while improving the overall look. Unbelievable. An example of the deliberate detail decisions is the fact the semicircle "indentation" in the middle of the hood (the one on our RX8 is rotary shaped) is not continued into the top of the dashboard inside the car, as it is in the Ibuki. There are enough of these "pill" or "semi-pill" shapes on the front of the car and in the headlights. One could have continued the motif into the dashboard, but it wasn't necessary. By taking that element out, Mazda decided to retain a classic-looking but freshened interior. Thus the designers deliberately chose to allow the exterior to be avant-garde and the interior to be classic, providing a pleasing but not overdone contrast rather than have both exterior and interior overpower with contemporary, avant-garde elements. If you want to see such a combination done wrong, just look to BMW. The best looking exterior by BMW is the Z4 but it is nearly ruined by the edgy and cold contemporary interior that actually seems to lack enough detail elements. This Miata's interior clearly retains a fresh but classic warmth.
Who is the chief designer? Is he a new person? The guy is only going to move on up. I could not have done a better job myself.
Last edited by Reactionary; 02-21-2005 at 07:20 PM.
02-21-2005, 07:10 PM
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Looks a little bit TOO boring for my tastes (and I like sleepers) - the headlights need a little bit more going on and am I the only one that's starting to get tired of clear tail lights on EVERYTHING? The 8 is one of the rare few cars I actually like them on. In fact, besides the IS300, I'm not sure if there is another car I like them on.