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The Next 2028 Mazda Miata Could Finally Bring Back This Iconic Design

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Amazingly enough, the current generation Mazda Miata is already almost 12 years old. Of course, Mazda has been working on a next-generation, and there are new rumors…

I personally never thought the current 4th generation looked as good as the previous one. It seems like Mazda was trying too hard and it ended up looking quite clumsy. I did test drive the previous one twice and it was great. Although at the time, I did have more fun driving the Pontiac Solstice. I’ve never driven the current one and I’m sure it’s great.

The next-generation is rumored to be inspired by the cool Iconic SP concept from a couple odf yrars ago. That concept was a coupe, and not a convertible. And it seems very unlikely for Mazda to switch the next Miata to a regular coupe. The illustrations above show what a production Miata inspired by the Iconic design could look like, as a convertible.

Apparently, the next generation will be able to adapt to multiple powertrains, including an EV if needed. Which I think is wise since it could be at least another 10 years before another generation. So far, the official word is: “the successor must also be ready for a scenario without a combustion engine. The challenge for us is to make the basic structure lighter without using exotic materials like carbon fiber.”

Weight of the next-generation is expected to be around the same as the current car. However, an EV version coul dbe around 300 pounds heavier than the current convertible version. Which is not bad at all.

of course, the next Miata will probably not be launched with an EV powertrain. At least not at first. Which means a Hybrid coul dbe on the table.

the Miata was never a huge seller. However, I do rememebr when it first came out and the long waiting lists and huge dealer markups. Its best year was 1990 with almost 36,000 units sold. Down to around 9000 last year. I guess this is not a priority for Mazda and that explains the 10 to 12 years between generations.

Let’s hope the next one looks great…

Conversation 6 comments

  2. I really like these renderings. Hope the final product looks similar. I agree that it needs to grow a bit. But just a bit.

  3. The renderings are a nice effort, although they look like they’re from the jelly bean design movement of the 90s without any sculptural detailing or character lines to them.

    If Mazda is smart, they’ll just iterate on the design of the ND and advance it further, even though it’s going to be a mechanically new model on a new platform. They have to make it obvious that it’s something fresh, without abandoning what worked well visually on the current gen.

    Basically what Porsche does with the 911… make it evolutionary, not revolutionary. Even if the proportions don’t change much, a lot can be done with styling to make it appear visually lower, leaner, and wider, with narrower headlight and tail light graphics and slightly more exaggerated fender flair geometry.

    If they really want to swing for the fences, they’d bring back the pop ups, not the forty-year-old NA style, but the idea from the Iconic SP concept, with a very thin slit of metal that that opens at narrow angle to reveal a wide LED strip, and fans of every generation won’t have anything to argue about.

    Keep evolving it into a baby Jaguar F-Type, don’t make it look like it’s trying too hard, keep it elegant and the design will stay timeless for another decade, and the buyers will keep showing up…

  4. Looks like a Mazda-rati to me, especially from the B-Pillar back. This surely will never be how a Mazda Miata looks.

  5. I would LOVE the pop-up headlights to return. I know they won’t, but I’m so sick of all this safety requirement bull s**t: eyeball monitors, small windows, overweight cars, auto stopping brakes. It all can go.

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