![\"Mazda](\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/6614a696b6ce2a3345806070902d91a9d45eb649\/c=743-0-5144-3309&r=x513&c=680x510\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/03\/23\/DetroitNews\/DetroitNews\/635943302308413250-15Mazda-MX-5RF-showmodel-RQ-close-black.jpg\")
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Tongues were wagging at the MX-5\u2019s New York Auto Show unveil over how radically different Mazda has gone with its retractable hardtop. So different that Mazda now calls its hardtop Miata a \u201cRetractable Fastback.\u201d So different that it drew comparisons to some much-pricier European sports cars.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s intentional, says Mazda\u2019s North American Design Director Julien Montousse. \u201cWe want the brand to become more emotional,\u201d he says. \u201cEvery car lover will fall in love with that roofline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officially called the MX-5 RF (for retractable fastback), the wee Mazda sports a more sophisticated look in the small convertible-sports segment it has defined for over a quarter century. If \u201cTarga\u201d were not a Porsche trademark, the new Miata would surely get the name. Unlike the previous generation hardtop \u2014 or the base, $25,735 soft-top Miata \u2014 the RF features sloping \u201cflying buttress\u201d B-pillars that taper to the rear deck and remain standing when the roof folds behind the front seats.<\/p>\n
Though the hardtop folds into the\u00a0same space as the softtop<\/a>, the mechanism is triggered automatically with a toggle switch in the center console. Hold it down and the hard top retreats between the flying buttresses \u2013 out of sight \u2013 in just 12 seconds at speeds of up to 7 miles per hour.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to develop something completely different,\u201d says Mazda\u2019s Director of Brand Experience Jeremy Barnes.<\/p>\n Below the hardtop,\u00a0the RF changes little from the popular fourth-generation MX-5<\/a>(other than gaining a new color called \u201cMachine Gray\u201d) that has received rave reviews from the motoring press. In the US, the RF will sport Mazda\u2019s \u201cSKYACTIV\u201d 2.0-liter engine pushing out 155 horsepower. Automobile magazine named the car one of its\u00a0\u201c2016 Automobile All-Stars<\/a>\u201d Tuesday \u2013 the latest in a string of baubles that includes finalist for 2016 North American Car of the Year and a spot in\u00a0Car & Driver\u2019s Ten Best List<\/a>.<\/p>\n HIS Senior Auto Analyst Stephanie Brinley says the RF is \u201cvery pretty,\u201d though the dramatic new design could \u201crisk alienating loyal customers who will find the B-pillars reduce visibility.\u201d Wary of the RF\u2019s larger blind spots, Montousse says the RF will come standard with blind spot assist.<\/p>\n Since Mazda introduced the hardtop option in 2005, it has made up a healthy 50 percent of sales. Why fix what ain\u2019t broken?<\/p>\n Just as the Gen-4 design gave the MX-5 an edgier 21st-century look that distanced the car from its retro-Lotus Elan origins, the RF looks to break hardtop convention.<\/p>\n Kelly Blue Book Managing Editor Matt Lorenzo says the RF is just what the market is looking for. \u201cStyling is very important in this segment,\u201d says the former Road & Track editor. \u201cIt gives the Miata a more mature look by picking up some Italian attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Though Mazda won\u2019t release pricing until later this year, Brinley conjectures that the dramatically different RF might allow Mazda to fetch higher prices for the hardtop \u2013 increasing margins in a segment with stable sales numbers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tongues were wagging at the MX-5\u2019s New York Auto Show unveil over how radically different Mazda has gone with its retractable hardtop. So different that Mazda now calls its hardtop Miata a \u201cRetractable Fastback.\u201d So different that it drew comparisons to some much-pricier European sports cars. That\u2019s intentional, says Mazda\u2019s North American Design Director Julien […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18273"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18278,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18273\/revisions\/18278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}