Alfa Romeo and Mazda will join forces for the new Alfa Spider and Miata (MX-5)

Last year Alfa Romeo and Mazda signed a memorandum of intent for collaboration in building convertible rear-wheel drive vehicles, but only now they closed the deal involving details like the deadlines, and technical data.

This partnership will bring to the market the next-generation Miata, or MX-5, with several petrol engines using the SkyG technology, and the return of the Spider to the range of the Italian brand with their own engines, possibly the 1.750cc with 300hp and the 1.4liter MultiAir starting at 165hp.

Both cars will be manufactured at the Mazda's plant in Hiroshima, from 2015, and will share the platform and some other mechanical elements.

Mazda CX-3 is a real possibility

According to AutoExpress, Mazda is working in a smaller SUV slotted below the CX-5 and which will be based on the Mazda 2 "supermini" to challenge the Ford Ecosport and the Nissan Juke.

The engine lineup will include a new 1.6liter diesel and a 1.3liter petrol engine allowing very low emissions and fuel consumption. It will probably be only offered as a front wheel driver car since they are the most sold.

We believe that the presentation will be made in 2014 and sales will start later that year.

Source: AutoExpress

Pictures: Mazda Minagi Concept

Mazda CX-5 wins the Japan Car of the Year Award

This is Mazda's second win in the last ten years with the MX-5 taking the other win in 2005. The CX-5 won over cars like the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 and the BMW 3-Series.

Sixty journalists and automotive experts get 25 votes to use, with their top choice getting 10 points and the remaining four options getting the rest. For a car to be eligible to the vote it had to have 500 units sold from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012.

The Subaru BRZ earned the Special Award because it made "an exceptional impact", and the BMW 3-Series won the Import Car of the Year Award.

Source: Autoblog

Patent drawings of the Mazda 3 leak to the web

The new Mazda is expected to be introduced in 2013 but it seems the car appearance was already patented since August 2010. This was discovered through these patent drawings recently made public that you can see below.

The new model will follow the new design line named KODO: Soul of Motion, with the recognizable trapezoidal grille, created for the Mazda 6.

The current model dates from 2009, so this means that after only four years we will see a completely new model with a new platform, weighing less, and new engines.

Source: TeleGraaf.NL

Mazda RX-7 returns in 2017

The legendary RX-7 with his also legendary engine, the rotary or Wankel, will return in 2017, 15 years after the previous RX-7 stopped being produced.



This was confirmed by Mazda’s sports car chief, Nobuhiro Yamamoto, who said the revival of the RX-7 will be timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Mazda’s first Wankel-powered car, the Cosmo, which entered production in May 1967.

At this time rumors point to the 16X Rotary engine to be at the heart of the car. Recently, while testing, the engine produced 300bhp. Yamamoto said the following about the possibility of using a turbo or a supercharger “At this time it has not been determined. Maybe later in life it will be turbo, but to start with maybe not.”

Source: AutoEvolution via TheMotorReport