Next-gen Mazda MX-5 ‘NE’ 2028: imagined and confirmed for Australia as halo sports car

As much less assailable main functions inaugurate as much as emerge in regards to the scale, weight and powertrain of the next-generation Mazda MX-5, Australian followers could perhaps well moreover make certain of one disclose: the ‘NE’ MX-5 will attain down below.

Asked whether or not Mazda Australia will bring the next-gen MX-5 to local shores, no matter its closing accomplish, managing director Vinesh Bhindi immediate Chasing Cars: “oh, certain!”

“Your entire company motivate in Japan has sturdy ambitions and desire [for] the MX-5 as our sports activities car and a super-attempting reflection of what Mazda is set by manner of Jinba Ittai and Zoom-Zoom,” mentioned Bhindi.

“Australia is not a gigantic market [for MX-5]; in markets love the US, Europe, and Japan, there are much extra [sales], but we intend to care for the MX-5 going.

“It’s with out a doubt one of my favourite autos,” Bhindi immediate Chasing Cars.

Small footprint remains with iconic SP-inspired fetch

Digital artist Theottle has imagined for Chasing Cars what the next-gen MX-5 will look love, with its straightforward surfacing, modernised lighting fixtures, taut proportions and minimal visual mass reflecting an evolutionary, in space of innovative, step.

The Chasing Cars renderings imagine the two-door roadster version of the ‘NE’ MX-5, which will proceed as the core offering, though an RF-vogue targa fastback version, well-purchased by traders, will potentially return later.

On the motivate of closed studio doorways, Mazda global fetch division overall supervisor Masashi Nakayama is overseeing the styling of the ‘NE’ MX-5, which modified into as soon as influenced by the Mazda Iconic SP belief that broke hide on the 2023 Japan Mobility Insist.

Skyactiv-Z engine upsized to 2.5-litres

Senior Mazda sources dangle already confirmed that the next MX-5 has thrilling dynamic targets.

A sub-4000mm size, sub-1000kg kerb weight, and a equally perky vitality-to-weight ratio to the hot version’s 126kW/tonne are on the playing cards.

In an April 2025 interview with US publication Street & Observe, Mazda chief technical officer Ryuichi Umeshita mentioned primarily the most main pattern priority modified into as soon as light weight.

Umeshita mentioned the original MX-5’s powertrain modified into as soon as likely to be upsized from 2.0-litres to a 2.5-litre unit to wait on out the ultimate lambda:1.0 air-gasoline combination in actuality required to lunge Euro 7 guidelines, promising a trim and ambiance pleasant gasoline burn to chop motivate emissions.

Reducing the richness of the MX-5’s air-gasoline combination in comparison with the present automobile will lead to a decrease vitality output — therefore Mazda’s solution to enhance displacement by 500cc to compensate for this.

Book stays, no hybrid or electrical MX-5 for now

That is typically main as the ‘NE’ is not expected to carry out a turbocharger, though makes an try to attach away with the manual transmission were staved off in the name of conserving followers pleased for as prolonged as that you must to perhaps well perhaps judge of.

The 2.5-litre engine is widely expected to be sourced from Mazda’s original-generation ‘Skyactiv-Z’ inside combustion (ICE) powertrain family, which could dangle peaceable and entire hybrid systems bolted onto it.

Nonetheless for now, the ‘NE’ MX-5 is belief to dangle resisted the need for even a peaceable hybrid plan, though advancing emissions guidelines in Europe (and Australia) could perhaps well necessitate such technology in future and the powertrain shall be in a position to this.

Mazda engineers did glance turning the MX-5 into a battery electrical automobile (BEV) but battery technology has not developed immediate sufficient to wait on surely light weight in this type of car.

Mazda has filed patents in the United States exhibiting a non-skateboard BEV platform for a two-door sports activities car that uses a T-shaped battery, plus a minute extra battery below the passenger seat, for superior weight distribution.

This fetch shall be extinct for a special Mazda sports activities car that is bigger than an MX-5 in the raze.

Timing could perhaps well interrogate ‘NE’ printed 2027 for 2028 initiating

Unknowns in regards to the ‘NE’ consist of its accurate vitality/torque outputs, RPM restrict, plus the sound and persona of the original engine. Questions exist in regards to the persona of its infotainment and ADAS instrument stack.

Australian Mazda boss Bhindi warned that the ‘NE’ is “not instantaneous” and that the fourth gen ‘ND’, which launched 10 years previously in 2015, is “right here to halt” in the in the meantime.

That’s partially because Mazda’s original hybrid Skyactiv-Z ICE engines are not yet ready for manufacturing, with prototypes of the CX-5 midsize SUV carrying ‘Z’ family powertrains unlikely to hit the avenue till 2026.

At this stage, the ‘NE’ MX-5 is expected to break hide in 2027 for a that you must to perhaps well perhaps judge of Australian initiating in 2028.

Seven versions of the ‘ND’ are supplied domestically, all utilising a 135kW/205Nm 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder and both a six-skedaddle manual or automatic.

Pricing for the 3915mm-prolonged ‘ND’ ranges from $42,735 to $56,885.

Gross sales of the ‘ND’ in Australia dangle stabilised in recent years, bouncing motivate from their nadir of 495 units in 2022 to 653 (2023) and 662 (2025). The recent gen’s finest success modified into as soon as stumbled on straight away after initiating in 2016 (1577 gross sales) and 2017 (1459).