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Mazda enthusiasts, it's time to sit up. The long-dormant spirit of Mazdaspeed, which left us yearning for more after its last hurrah in 2013 with the Mazda 3 MPS, is stirring once again.

Just when we thought the shift to electric might have dimmed the prospects of a revival, Mazda has given us a delightful surprise: the birth of Mazda Spirit Racing.

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Mazda Spirit Racing Launched - A Comeback To Their Racing Roots

IN Mazda Spirit Racing, Mazda, Spirit Racing, Burnpavement, Tokyo Auto Salon, 2024

The new in-house racing brand is the spiritual successor to Mazdaspeed, poised to develop more track-focused cars.

Nestled in the little-known region of Umbria, Italy, is Miataland. The name is about as obvious as it gets. Miataland is home to the world's largest private collection of Mazda MX-5. Yes, we don’t know why someone would be so committed to the petite Japanese roadster.

While most car collections are usually museum exhibits and only taken out on special occasions, the generous people who run Miataland actually want you to touch the cars. Hell, they'll even let you take them out for a drive.

Happenings

Miataland Is The World’s Only Mazda Themed Resort Getaway

IN Miataland, Mazda, Resort, Getaway, Italy

Take the largest private collection of Mazda’s classic roadster in the world and couple that with a resort, and you get an automotive haven where dreams come true.

We start with a name and a style that’s all too common in the modified car scene these days: Pandem/Rocket Bunny. They’re a line of wide body kits by a company called TRA Kyoto, brainchild of a certain Kei Miura. He designs, builds and sells kits for a huge variety of cars, from classics like the Nissan Fairlady Z and BMW E30, to JDM favourites like the Nissan Silvia and Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, to modern stuff like the Toyota GR Supra and Yaris, and even the C8 Corvette!

Happenings

Retro Havoc 2022 Highlights Part 1: Hunting for Speed

Retro Havoc: Encore Edition was our first car show in over 3 years, and boy was it great to be at one again. In this 3-part series, we bring you our highlights from the show, starting with the cars th

The Mazda CX-60 may be a 'tame' family hauler rather than a fire-breathing rotary sports coupe, but it still piqued more than a bit of interest here at the office.

That's because the platform the CX-60 rides on, which will go on to underpin a number of Mazda's larger future offerings (including the next-gen Mazda 6), has the engine mounted longitudinally, which means…

… wait for it…

… a rear-wheel drive mechanical layout!

Happenings

Launched with a Buzz | Mazda CX-60 PHEV SUV

IN Mazda, CX-60, SUV, Hybrid

Kodo, Ma, Kaichou, Musubu, Hacho and Kakenui for you, Takumi-san?

With this 252 bhp variant (the base model gets 190 bhp), Quattro is standard. The lovely new chassis platform known as 'MLB-Evo chassis' yields a car that is lighter, more playful and nimble on the road. Steering inputs are precisely executed and while a little on the light side, never feels vague. I’d dare say the combination of a strong power output and sublime handling almost makes this A5 quite S5-like! I enjoyed driving it more than I did the 3.0-litre S4.

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Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI Quattro | Evolutionary

The second generation A5 is even better before. Based on Audi’s MLB-Evo chassis, the new car is both great to drive and practical to boot!

The Mazda MX-5 has that effect. In a market where everyone's busy trying to squeeze so much technology along with mind-numbing engineering effort into a shell, Mazda decided to give us a sporty little cabriolet that is so much fun to drive, you're probably willing to sell off a cornea/kidney/liver to buy one. While we also cannot ignore Toyota's 86 and Subaru's BRZ which has similar 'back-to-basic' concept, the MX-5 still stands out further simply due to the fact that you have the option to drive it with or without the roof.

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Mazda MX-5 RF | Basically Speaking

IN Mazda, MX-5, RF, Mazda MX-5 RF, Skyactiv, Cabriolet, Coupe, Convertible, Zoom-zoom, Eurokars Group

The MX-5 RF is the perfect medicine to cure any sort of depression, but first...

Fast forward to 2017, and the Eurokars Group proudly presented the new CX-5 at the Ritz Carlton, Millennia Singapore Hotel.

Happenings

New CX-5 Launched

IN Mazda, CX-5, 2017, Mazda CX-5, 2017 Mazda CX-5, SUV, Trans Eurokars, Eurokars Group, Singapore, Ritz Carlton Millennia Singapore

Mazda claims the highly updated CX-5 as the 'Most Premium SUV in its class'

Cleverly designed to install without intrusive mechanical alterations onto the 1,998cc SKYACTIV-G engine, the BBR Stage 1 turbocharger upgrade is specified to enhance drivability as well as outright power. Post conversion, the turbocharger upgrade indicates a 0-100 km/h time slashed from 7.3 to a scorching 5 seconds flat. Top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h.

The Pit

Stage 1 Turbo Now Available For MX-5!

IN BBR Stage 1, Turbocharger, Stage 1, BBR, Mazda MX-5, Mazda, Miata, SKYACTIV-G

Want more power out of your MX-5? How does 248 bhp sound like?

Now here’s contestant number ten: The Spain-assembled Nissan Pulsar.

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Nissan Pulsar 1.2 DIG-T | Price Buster

IN Nissan, Pulsar, Family hatchback, Hatchback, Turbocharged, DIG-T, 1.2 DIG-T, Nissan Pulsar 1.2 DIG-T, Tan Chong Motor Sales, 2017

In an already crowded market place, is there still space for the Pulsar here?

The nonprofit group's goal is to promote more choice in how smartphones get connected to in-vehicle technologies like dashboard displays and voice recognition, and in other programming, Ford and Toyota said in a joint statement. Toyota has resisted offering Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto in its vehicles, citing concern that doing so would diminish safety and security. Ford, on the other hand, offers them on all its 2017 model vehicles; but the automaker still wants an open-source software platform that all app developers can use as an alternative to those of Google and Apple.

Happenings

Ford And Toyota Forms Alliance

IN Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor Corporation, SmartDeviceLink Consortium, Google Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Ford, Toyota, Google, Apple, SmartDeviceLink, Mazda Motor, PSA Group, Fuji Heavy Industrie

In a move to prevent both Google and Apple from conquering in-vehicle apps, Ford and Toyota have stepped in together to form a telematics alliance

Recently - and quietly too - a nameplate that was once a local favourite has returned: The Ford Focus.

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King Of The Crop | Ford Focus Hatch 1.0 EcoBoost

IN Ford, Ford Focus, EcoBoost, Focus, Ford Focus EcoBoost 1.0, Turbocharged, 3-cylinder, Hatchback, Regent Motors

Ford returns, now with a new force-fed powerplant that should put a smile on budget-conscious buyers — but can it steal the limelight from the Golf?

Happenings

Mazda Produces Its Millionth MX-5

IN Mazda, MX-5, Mazda MX-5, Miata, Roadster, Mazda Motor Corporation

Mazda Motor Corporation today announced that production of the Mazda MX-5 has reached one million units on 22nd April, 2016.

In town driving, you rarely catch the car out of breath, sprinting from one junction to the other without embarrassingly feeling underpowered or breathless. While it feels willing to go all the way to its 6,500 rpm redline, it does seem to be highly vocal anywhere past 4,500 rpm. By the way to make it more engaging, a subtle ‘Sport’ switch is also placed just below the gear-shifter; no, it won’t transform the Mazda 2 into a GTR, but what it does is hold the gears longer for you to overtake or, while being a wee bit naughty, prevents the transmission from shifting up prematurely as you throw it from one corner to the other.

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Mazda 2 Sedan (Deluxe) | When Value And Style Meets

IN Mazda, 2, 2 Sedan, Mazda 2 Sedan, Deluxe, Zoom Zoom, Kodo Soul of Motion, SkyActiv, Trans Eurokars, Compact sedan, Honda City, Suzuki Ciaz, Nissan Almera, Mitsubishi Attrage, Toyota Vios

For young drivers looking for their first, worry-free mode of transportation, the Mazda 2 Sedan has a lot going on

That said, there is no denying how the completely reworked and redesigned MX-5 now has a more aggressive stance: The hood slopes forward to a narrow cross-section front end that features the car’s blacked-out grille, which is then combined to a pair of restyled headlight cluster (featuring LED running lights).

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Mazda MX-5 2.0 (A) | That Same Feeling

IN Mazda, MX-5, Mazda MX-5 2.0, Miata, Auto, Roadster, Trans Eurokars

We've sampled the well-balanced manual version previously, but we needed a second opinion - hence we got our Doc, an ex-owner himself, to give us his impression

But rather unfortunately, within my first 10 minutes the car brought me to this: Disappointment. The engine sounds dismal, you need to crack it up just to feel alive and… it drizzled. It was painful, feeling cheated; I mean, this car got raving reviews the world over!

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Mazda MX-5 2.0 (M) | Balanced Diet

IN Mazda, MX-5, Mazda MX-5 2.0, Manual, Roadster, Trans Eurokars

Mazda stated it is heavily inspired by the first generation, albeit with a modern twist - so are they just playing with our emotions?

The Pit

MX-5 Sport Recaro Limited Edition

IN Mazda, MX-5, Sport Recaro, MX-5 Sport Recaro, Recaro, Jinba Ittai

Limited Edition range-topping model joins the all-new Mazda MX-5 line up; unique look courtesy of Sports Aero Kit and Diamond cut alloy wheels

Designers drew inspiration from vintage roadsters. The MX-5 Spyder features a 'bikini top', Mercury Silver exterior, carbon fibre aero kit and grille intake, lightweight 17-inch Yokohama Advan Racing RS II wheels and a Spinneybeck Prima natural full-grain leather interior. The MX-5 Speedster, meanwhile, pares the roadster back to the bare essentials — it even has a deflector in place of the windscreen — for an old school wind-in-the-hair sports car experience. Mazda took its weight-cutting passion to extremes with for example carbon fibre doors and seats as well as custom 16-inch Rays 57 Extreme Gram Lights wheels. The Speedster tips the scales at only 943 kg, and is also 30 mm lower than the production MX-5 thanks to an adjustable coilover suspension.

Modified

SEMA 2015 Las Vegas: Lightweight MX-5 Concepts Revealed

IN Mazda, MX-5, MX-5 Spyder, MX-5 Speedster, SEMA 2015, Las Vegas

MX-5 Spyder and MX-5 Speedster concepts debut at 2015 SEMA show in Las Vegas; Mazda North America collaborated with various aftermarket parts suppliers to create both concepts

BP — The previous 3 generations of MX-5 had a design that was quite cute, rounded and smiley, which clearly evolved over the years. Why then did the ND's styling suddenly change to something quite aggressive and angry?

Nakayama — Of course, compared to the previous generations, the design is more aggressive, but I personally believe the most important thing is not how it compares to the older cars. When you look at the car without prior knowledge about the previous models, whether it is beautiful or aggressive or not, is not the most important thing. I believe that when we introduced the first-generation model, among all the players in the industry, car design had certain tendencies. So maybe every player had a much more pretty or softer face. But now, so many players have a much more aggressive face and complex design. So I think that compared to the other players today, the design is not that aggressive.

Happenings

The Brains behind the MX-5 Part II | Masashi Nakayama, Chief Designer

IN Mazda, MX-5, Interview, Chief, ND, Designer, Kodo

In the second of this two-part series, we sat down with the new MX-5’s Chief Designer to learn more about the car’s drastic change in appearance, and the role designers play in creating a new car.

BP — If there was one location anywhere on Earth you could drive this car, the perfect road for this car, where would it be?

Yamamoto — In Japan we have four seasons; in spring we have the cherry blossoms, in summer there is lots of sunshine so you can drive the car along the coast or beach, in autumn you can enjoy the leaves changing colour in the mountains, and in winter there is snow, and you can wrap up in a scarf and enjoy the scenery. So I believe you can enjoy the drive no matter when or where. I'm sure that no matter where you live, you can find a perfect place, so I'd like for you to find the best for yourself in your own country!

Happenings

The Brains behind the MX-5 Part I | Nobuhiro Yamamoto, Programme Manager

IN Mazda, MX-5, Interview, Chief, ND

When the new Mazda MX-5 was launched here, two of the most important figures in its creation were in attendance. In the first of this two-part series, we had a chat with the car's Programme Manager.

And I’m saying this based on its price tag. The Passat 1.8 TSI in Highline spec here commands $156,300 with COE.

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Volkswagen Passat 1.8 TSI | VW’s New Opus

IN Volkswagen, VW, Passat TSI, Passat, 1.8 TSI Highline, Large Sedan, Volkswagen Large Sedan

VW’s latest contender in the large sedan segment hits the right notes, but the only challenge now is to sway buyers into its direction