Whats it going to look like thread?

[minto]

Well Iv seen a few concepts kicking about but has it been 100% confirmed and things? Anyway, Here's some pics of what Iv seen so far.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Keep in mind, those are artist interpretations, so they are speculative.

Everything I have experienced in the lead-up to the ND's release tells me Mazda knows this model has to be a home run. In the focus group I attended, we were told they knew they messed up with the NC, to much chagrin of some NC owners present. The press releases about the engineering of the chassis, the engine, the dedication to lightness, it's very encouraging. I know a few people at R&D and Marketing, the vibe I get is a "Not-Fucking-Around Crew" mentality. Mazda's secrecy about the ND is uncharacteristic and I do believe this is a do or die model for them.

I would expect the Kodo design language ("soul of motion") to develop quickly. Look at the Shinari concept for broad brush strokes of that language. The Nagare language was never really accepted beyond the Furai concept.

Ikuo Maeda took over as design chief early last year. He penned the RX-8. Interestingly, he is a second generation Mazda designer. His father penned the original RX-7. Derek Jenkins was named director of design for North America less than a year before that. Derek came from VW/Audi NA, having penned the A8 and new Scirocco. I believe this means together, the two will look to set a long-lasting language into motion with Kodo. I think they have the talent to do so, local professional circles close to me in design confirm this.

[f86sabjf]

I hope it doesnt look like the top yellow one. Reminds me of some kind of solstice caddy cross

[miata5620]

I just hope they get rid of that smiling front end and make the new car feel more pure like the NAs and NBs. I have not driven any modified NCs but the stock ones I have been in just did not feel like the sports car the older models felt like.

[HellaRareYellow]

I hope it doesnt look like the top yellow one. Reminds me of some kind of solstice caddy cross

Almost Z4~ish. yuk.

[Dliverance]

I kinda like the first one. Looks a lot more aggressive than the previous body styles. Excluding the MSM of course.

[Calebbel]

I kinda like the RX8ish looking front end

[Skinny]

More of the first one, less of the magazing and nc one

[zoom]

It's going to be ugly. Probably with the same nose as the '13 cx-5.

[Emex]

Front end of the yellow one has Scirocco traits around the front end, any word on how much NC is going to be carried over?

[satking]

They need to go back to basics like the original NA and allow the owners to make the upgrades they want.....the only extras I would add are a roll bar and an optional power hardtop

[blackchicken]

KungFuJesus glad to hear the inside scoop from the focus group. I'm a long-time NB1 owner, now an NC2 owner and pretty regularly drive all the generations in stock and modded form. I agree that mazda screwed the pooch with the release of the NC. To me it was never the weight (especially since the weight was very carefully managed to barely increase over an NB2 or MSM) or the styling (flared arches were a bit weird but overall I preferred it to the NB2 or even my own NB1) or even the width increase (it brought interior gains over the cramped NB and gave the car a more "serious" stance going down the road).

So what blew it - to me, at least? - the stock suspension tuning! Marshmallow soft, body roll like a ship in a storm... truly unbecoming... and contrary to the potential of the RX8-shared chassis. The engine sitting low and behind the front axle in particular was a fantastic thing mazda engineered for the NC... as was the stiff chassis... the improved soft top... so why deliver these NC1 cars in particular to the press and to customers with such horrid chassis tuning and sitting miles off the pavement in 4x4 mode so that they didn't just handle sloppily, they also looked TERRIBLE!

Having driven both NC1 and NC2 there were some very real improvements in the 2009 suspension tuning. The 4x4 look was not QUITE as egregious... more comparable to how high stock NB and NA cars sat from factory (they need help in this department too, IMO). But even NC2 suspension tuning is pretty lame. It is not longer so bad as to make you want to cry as a long-time miata enthusiast but it is nowhere near sufficient for even a semi-serious enthusiast driver.

Like most of us know, of course, even mild changes to the NC suspension (springs, sways, a good alignment) utterly transform the feel of the car. Quick turn-in returns to the steering, body roll goes away, the car takes on an eager feel that is missing in stock form. And with an exhaust the MZR motor starts to live up to its larger displacement (revs nice and quick too, reminiscent of the 1.6L NA1 engine in many ways except with greater low-end torque). And don't get me wrong, NA and NB models both benefit greatly from suspension mods and few power tweaks... in this regard the NC is no different from previous miatas.... so the difference is not one of kind but more of degree: whereas a stock NA or NB delivers a decent sporting feel on mazda's stock suspension tuning, the NC *needs* suspension help to handle any transient changes.

As for intake/exhaust "sound", the best sounding generation in STOCK form was always the NA. It has a decent exhaust tuning that you can hear both top up and top down. My stock NB exhaust was a disappointment compared to the NA stock exhaust tone. The NC is like the NB in this regard... stock exhaust is disappointing and nearly silent from the driver's seat. The NC2 does get points for a nice induction growl, however.

Whoa... this was supposed to be "what is the ND going to look like?" wasn't it? My own prediction (hope?) is that the car will be close *in spirit* to the Ibuki concept that foreshadowed the NC.
http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...i/viewall.html

From what I read somewhere, NC was a partial delivery of Ibuki... the full implementation of Ibuki will come about in ND. I'd like to see weight about what NB1 was (2300lb), which is only ~150lb weight reduction from a softtop NC and so very achievable. If they go further and get closer to NA1 weight (2100lb) then all the better. I would also like to see the car corner in STOCK FORM as flat and composed as the GT86/BRZ seems to be cornering (based on videos I've seen). In short, I want this car to be in STOCK FORM as good as most of us make our NA/NB/NC miatas with basic suspension and stiffness mods... and I would like the intake+exhaust to be tuned for aggressive and sporty sound. Gearbox, I'm not too worried, mazda usually does well with this. Steering feel, ditto (but a ratio as quick as the R53 MINIs is a good idea here, so slightly quicker ratio than the current car).

All in all, I hope the ND driving experience is led by mazda's engineers and not "focus groups", definitely not by beancounters. And I think that if the car gets lighter and a bit smaller and more basic in its features and mission the price can also be dropped by about $4K, making it as relatively affordable a sports car as the NA1 was when released (NA1 cost was on par with Honda's CRX Si when released; NB1 cost shot up significantly, in comparison; NC1 held the line on prices relative to the NB2 but GT and PRHT models are definitely overpriced by a good $5K).

[blackchicken]

Wow I didn't think that would be so long... that would not have happened in Tapatalk on my iphone lol.

[Grumpy]

The Ibuki styling was 2003. I wouldn't mind it if it were used, but I think that's going backwards in their styling cues for the brand. Since then there's also been Nagare styling and most recently, and IMHO the most likely option for the ND to is the Kodo styling as seen in the Shinari Concept.



Quite a while back after someone had a request for what it might look like if the Shinari styling were to be used on the ND, I came up with this:



Looking at it, I think the wheelbase is too long, mainly due to the fact I kept the full trunk, and left too much space for the roof storage. But, not too long ago top speed posted this shot which would look pretty good I think.



I feel it's likely that they'll use the brand styling, but I think to keep a Miata looking like a Miata that they should go with the Ibuki styling with some tweaks (headlights on this concept picture suck balls, but the rest looks pretty good)

[Tekel]

I just wish they would get rid of the God forsaken smile.