Next Mazda MX-5 being prepared with fully electric drive alongside 2.5 litre Skyactiv-Z ICE powertrain – CEO

While the Mazda MX-5 has been said to head into its fifth generation firmly with a naturally aspirated engine and manual transmission, it now appears that the iconic two-seater sports car is also being prepared for a future with full electrification, reported Car Expert.

Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro told German publication Auto Motor und Sport that the Japanese manufacturer is preparing for a scenario where the use of an internal combustion engine could be ruled out.

“The [MX-5] successor must also be ready for a scenario without a combustion engine. The challenge for us is to make the basic structure lighter without using exotic materials like carbon-fibre,” Moro told the publication.

Mazda still aims to make the next-generation MX-5 as light as possible, assures Moro, and the Japanese manufacturer is aiming for the current, ND-generation‘s successor to weight between “just under 1,000 kg and 1,200 kg”, according to the report.

The fifth-generation MX-5 has been said to make use of Mazda’s Skyactiv-Z family of internal combustion engines, which is set to debut in the third-generation CX-5 by the end of 2027. The new generation of engines is aimed at achieving a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio, or Lambda:1, in order to meet Euro 7 regulations and California’s LEV IV standards.

Aiming to attain Lambda:1 for clean and complete combustion of fuel will see a reduction in engine outputs, which Mazda hopes to counteract by increasing engine displacement to 2.5 litres, chief technical officer Ryuichi Umeshita said last year.

The next Mazda MX-5 is expected to retain a naturally aspirated engine and manual transmission; images of 2025 ND MX-5 RF, 2.0L MT

Meanwhile, general manager of design Masashi Nakayama also said at the time that the company aims to make the fifth-generation car “less than one tonne” and less than four metres in length, which is comparable to the current, ND-generation car that measures 3,915 mm long and weighs 1,010 kg in its lightest guise with a 1.5 litre engine and manual transmission.

Mazda is developing the fifth-generation MX-5 with an eye on a fully electric direction, however. “If all internal combustion engines were banned, then we would have no choice, and of course, our engineering team is studying both ways – battery EV and ICE [MX-5]. But whatever we do, the ICE one is lighter,” CTO Umeshita said last year.

GALLERY: 2025 Mazda MX-5 RF 6MT in Malaysia

Loading 63 photos…

Add paultan.org as a preferred source on Google SearchAdd Follow paultan.org on Google NewsFollow