The team members (Hasip Girgin, Luca Zollino, Nigel Ratcliffe, Maria Greger and Luciana Silvares) began by designing the cockpit first, as there wasn’t enough time for a small-scale modeling.
The cockpit was created together with the interior door braces. All components were then digitalized. This data was sent to an external studio for prototype build, where the parts of fibreglass-reinforced plastic and carbon fibre were made and later fitted. This method was also used to create the centre console with gear shift lever and hand brake.
A drivable “blank” of the MX-5 Superlight version was created that weighed under 1,000 kg, which was test driven on a track. Final assembly began with painting the body in white colour, and simply polishing the original MX-5 aluminium bonnet.
Then the racing seats, steering wheel, gear shift lever and hand brake were upholstered in leather and installed in the show car. This was followed by the installation of all previously-built carbon fibre components. And at the end, Mazda designers installed the centre console, the dashboard and instruments, seatbelts and roll-over bars.
All components that were not absolutely required for driving were put on the scales. Safety components were left untouched. Weight savings, by either elimination or replacement, were undertaken on the following components:
- Windshield with frame and wipers
- Retractable soft top and folding frame
- Side windows including window openers
- Outer door handles and side mirrors
- Audio system
- Interior trim, rugs and sound insulation
- Production-model seats
- Air conditioning system, heat exchanger and ventilation system
- Dashboard frame
- Centre console
- Gear shift lever
- Hand brake lever
- Armrest between the seats
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