Photo: Jose Antonio Aranda on Instagram
Inspired by British roadsters of the 1960s and ‘70s, the MX-5 is the best-selling car in the segment for pretty good reasons. Light, tail happy, affordable, and reliable as opposed to old-school Jags and Triumphs, the Miata wasn’t designed to be a fixed-head coupe yet Mazda revealed this body style as a concept in 1996.
Miata M Coupe is how it’s called, and since then, the Japanese automaker has treated us to very few fixed heads. The second generation in Roadster Coupe specification was limited to the Japanese market and 179 units, featuring a reworked body structure that translated to increased structural rigidity and a weight increase of 10 kilograms (22 pounds). The third and fourth generations were treated to retractable hardtops, and that’s pretty much it. Or is it?
Pixel artist Jose Antonio Aranda has revisited the M Coupe mentioned earlier, but on this occasion, we’re dealing with a fourth generation featuring a fixed-head coupe. The signature lighting appears to have been modified as well, but Jose didn’t stop here. As an added bonus, he also rendered a shooting brake.
A simple look at the car’s proportions and greenhouse will take you back to the BMW Z3 M Coupe. Some of the engineers weren’t happy with the roadster, which is why they worked after hours to create the Z3 M Coupe without the supervisory board’s awareness. The end result, however, received the stamp of approval and this is how the Clown Shoe came to be in 1998.
The question is, does Mazda need a fixed-head coupe or a shooting brake option for the MX-5? Not quite, no. Both body styles don’t make too much sense in 2020, not when sports cars sales are on a downward spiral and automatic transmissions reign supreme. Alas, the soft top and retractable fastback will have to suffice.
Known as ND2, the mid-cycle refresh of the Miata is offered with either a 1.5- or 2.0-liter engine depending on the region. The U.S. gets the larger mill, and the suggested retail price for the 2020 model year starts at $26,580 for the roadster and $33,045 for the RF.
Pixel artist Jose Antonio Aranda has revisited the M Coupe mentioned earlier, but on this occasion, we’re dealing with a fourth generation featuring a fixed-head coupe. The signature lighting appears to have been modified as well, but Jose didn’t stop here. As an added bonus, he also rendered a shooting brake.
A simple look at the car’s proportions and greenhouse will take you back to the BMW Z3 M Coupe. Some of the engineers weren’t happy with the roadster, which is why they worked after hours to create the Z3 M Coupe without the supervisory board’s awareness. The end result, however, received the stamp of approval and this is how the Clown Shoe came to be in 1998.
The question is, does Mazda need a fixed-head coupe or a shooting brake option for the MX-5? Not quite, no. Both body styles don’t make too much sense in 2020, not when sports cars sales are on a downward spiral and automatic transmissions reign supreme. Alas, the soft top and retractable fastback will have to suffice.
Known as ND2, the mid-cycle refresh of the Miata is offered with either a 1.5- or 2.0-liter engine depending on the region. The U.S. gets the larger mill, and the suggested retail price for the 2020 model year starts at $26,580 for the roadster and $33,045 for the RF.
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