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Retractable fastback for sleek new Mazda MX-5 RF

5Mazda_MX 5RF_rear
The sleek new Mazda MX-5 RF with retractable fastback roof - on sale in Europe in 2017

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23 March 2016

MAZDA has revealed a dramatically sleek ‘retractable fastback’ (RF) styling for the new Mazda MX-5 RF given its world premiere on the eve of the New York International Auto Show.

Mazda_MX-5RF_front
New Mazda MX-5 RF

Due to go on sale in Europe next year, the latest version of the legendary sports car offers a new dimension of open-top driving fun while staying true to the purpose of Mazda’s previous retractable hardtop MX-5: Making the roadster experience accessible to a broader range of drivers.

Featuring fastback styling with a smooth roofline that slopes down to the rear, the MX-5 RF’s unique rear roof and retractable back window deliver a distinctive new convertible feeling.

The power roof opens and closes with the press of a button while moving at sedate speeds of up to 10km/h. The roof itself stows away compactly and efficiently.

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Push-button retractable fastback roof

In fact despite the sleek design, the MX-5 RF offers the same boot space as the soft-top model, unlike most folding hardtops.

Also like the soft-top, the new version will be available in Europe with a choice of two revvy petrol engines – the Skyactiv-G 1.5 and Skyactiv-G 2.0 – mated either to a delightfully crisp shifting six-speed Skyactiv-MT gearbox or, exclusively for this new MX-5 RF, a six-speed automatic.

Another highlight of the MX-5 RF is the selection of body colours. They include Machine Grey, a new premium colour specially designed to accentuate the subtle yet dynamic surfaces of Mazda’s KODO – Soul of Motion exteriors.

Special paint looks like solid steel

Developed in the belief that colour is one of the elements of form, Machine Grey expresses the beauty of a machine’s strength and precision. By intensifying the contrast between light and shadow with a sleek, high-density finish, it gives the impression that the vehicle’s body was sculpted from a solid block of steel.

Paint application is crucial: Mazda progressed its Takuminuri painting technology originally created for Soul Red, Mazda’s first premium colour, to achieve a precise, high-quality finish that looks as if it were hand-painted by a master craftsman.

The system uses a three-coat paint structure of colour, reflective and clear coats. The reflective layer, which contains extremely thin, high-brightness aluminium flakes, shrinks during the drying process to about one-quarter the thickness of most reflective layers.

This causes the flakes to lie flat with regular spacing between each flake for a high-density finish that gives the entire surface a sheen when illuminated and a genuine metallic look. Jet black pigment, meanwhile, is used in both reflective and colour layers.

It is visible through the spaces between the aluminium flakes, giving them a black hue and thus heightening the contrast. Machine Grey will be available on a range of Mazda models, including the all-new Mazda CX-9.

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Sleek profile of the Mazda MX-5 RF with the roof closed

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