To help celebrate the MX-5 Miata’s 20th anniversary, Mazda will show the MX-5 Superlight concept at the Frankfurt auto Show this September. And to wet our appetites, the Japanese automaker has released a few renderings of just what this speedster will look like.

An homage to early race cars, the Superlight has no windscreen or door handles and will be significantly lighter than the standard MX5. Mazda wants to illustrate how through the reduction of weight it can improve performance, handling and fuel-economy. There is no word on an engine but it’s likely to use either Mazda’s 1.8-liter or 2.0-liter four-cylinder.

It’s unlikely the MX-5 Superlight will ever see production, at least not as a road car. There is, however, the possibility that Mazda could build a limited number of the cars for track use, much like how Lotus built 2-Eleven for the same purpose.

GALLERY: Mazda MX-5 Superlight

[Source: Car Magazine]

Of course, this isn’t any old milestone; the MX-5 has been around for 20 years exactly – worming its way into our hearts since its debut in 1989. To some it is single handedly responsible for reviving the small sports car market that many thought had died with the British motor industry.

The chances of the MX-5 Superlight being put into production are, we think, remote. But then you never can tell with companies like Mazda.

We wouldn’t go so far as to say that the folks at AutoExpress are just making stuff up, but the prospect of a smaller MX-5 Miata (the MX-2) does sound unlikely.

Still, the British auto pub is reporting that such a vehicle is in the works and could be here as early as 2012. This would put ensure it arrived well ahead of possible competitors like the MINI Speedster or Nissan Urge. For the record, however, the Speedster is still just a rumor and the Urge, which debuted at the North American International Auto Show back in 2006, has reportedly been scrapped.

Motivation could come from an engine as a 1.6-liter four-cylinder or as small as 700ccs. The 1.6 option would be the high-performance model with as much as 160hp.

AutoExpress cites a company insider who says we should expect to see an MX-2 concept soon.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Lamborghini has just released dozens of stunning new photos of its latest exotic, the LP560-4 Spyder. This drop-top Lambo first launched at last year’s L.A. Auto Show and news of the model has been relatively quiet. The release of these photos, however, comes as customers start to take deliveries and the Italian automaker begins to once again drum up interest in its latest creation – so you’re sure to see plenty of LP560-4 reviews over the next few weeks and months.

Be sure to check out our huge gallery below:

GALLERY: Lamborghini LP560-4 Spyder

Those waiting for a drop-top version of Audi’s R8 won’t have to wait much longer. The car is set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September and it appears as though Audi is out doing some final testing – as these Nürburgring spy photos show. 

In Frankfurt Audi is expected to debut the 525hp V10-powered version of the four-ringed exotic as well as a 420hp V8 version.

A soft top, and not a hard top, is the top-down route Audi has chosen. Not only will it help keep weight down (always a problem with Audis) but it is better for packaging and cost. Besides, every other Audi convertible has a rag top. 

The only question remains, what will it be called? R8 Spyder? R8 Roadster? Or the R8 Convertible?

[Source: Car & Driver]

[Photo Credit: Car Spionage]

Toyota appears to be readying a convertible version of the iQ minicar that is currently on sale in Japan and Europe. The report comes from Japan’s Best Car magazine, which suggests much of the basics will be kept including a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 99hp and 92 ft-lbs of torque. Fuel-economy for this engine is rated an an average of 51 mpg – although Toyota offers even smaller and more fuel-efficient powerplants including a 1.0-liter four-cylinder and a 1.4-liter turbodiesel.

Presumably cabriolet or roadster model would do without the two rear seats found in the coupe – which are by all accounts entirely useless.

Pricing in Japan could be 2 million Yen, which works out to a rather steep $20,300.

While it seems unlikely, there is potential for this car to make its way to North America. At the recent New York Auto Show, Toyota youth-brand Scion debuted a concept based on the iQ. This showed that Toyota is certainly interested in exploring whether or not to bring the iQ to the U.S. and apparently it sees the Scion brand as a better fit for the car. And as small a niche market as a vehicle like this may seem, the iQ Cabriolet already has a competitor with the SMART fortwo Cabriolet.

Best Car also suggests that Honda will bring back the Beat in order to compete with this new model from Toyota.

[Source: 4WheelsNews.com]

Sadly it looks like the very-cool Volkswagen BlueSport Roadster may never see the street. VW has not confirmed the car’s status but apparently a company representative told a group of media who were in Australia for a Volkswagen press event that it just didn’t make economic sense considering the global recession.

This would no doubt mean that Audi and SEAT versions of the little roadster would suffer a similar fate.

The concept won’t be scrapped entirely, however, and may be resusetated once the economy recovers.

The BlueSport Roadster Concept launched at the North American International Auto Show this year, and boasted a 180hp turbo-diesel engine that can get 55mpg and hit 62 mph in 6.2 seconds.

[Source: Channel4]

Last week French auto pub L’Automobile reported what it said was a leaked photo of an upcoming MINI vehicle and now they have more news to share. Unconnected to that vehicle, the magazine says MINI will bring a Roadster concept to the Frankfurt Auto Show this Fall.

The new model would use a soft-top but do without the rear seats (in true roadster fashion). Without those rear seats the Roadster would weigh considerably less. Apparently offering a light-weight model is one of the reasons for the Roadster and so there may be other measures taken to help reduce the vehicle’s mass.

Little else is known about the supposed Roadster concept other than it will make use of a shorter and less angles windscreen.

[Source: L'Automobile via Autoblog]

It’s not exactly the sort of news worthy of a celebration, but some cautious optimism is certainly appropriate as word comes that the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky might not suffer the same fate as almost every other fun vehicle under the General Motors umbrella.

Fritz Henderson, GM’s new CEO said that the company would be willing to part with the plant where the two sports cars are assembled. The Wilmington, Del. plant is also the location where GM manufactures the Opel GT – a European version of the car.

“If someone were to approach with a proposal that made good sense for our people, we’d be open to it,” Henderson said.

Both the Solstice and Sky were introduced in 2006 as front-engine, rear-wheel drive roadsters. The models come standard with a 173hp four-cylinder, with a turbocharged 260-hp four-cylinder optional.

General Motors is still intent on selling off the Saturn brand and scuttling the Pontiac nameplate, however, it won’t rule out selling the Wilmington facility as there is likely to be some interest in the niche-market vehicles.

Last year GM moved close to 20,000 units of the two American models, with the Solstice selling 10,739 units and the Sky 9,162 units.

The move is similar to the one made by Chrysler in regards to the Dodge Viper. Chrysler has yet to find a buyer for that iconic nameplate.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Lotus has confirmed that it will introduce a Purist Edition of the Elise for sale in the U.S. this year. The philosophy behind this new model is to bring the Elise back to what it was when it first crossed the pond and landed on U.S. shores.

That means it will be a more basic package and will come at a lower starting price. That starting MSRP for the new model will be $43,995 – roughly $3,500 less than a standard Elise.

What you get for that amount is quite a lot… or quite a little depending on how you look at it. Lotus prides itself on light-weight, back-to-basics vehicles and the Purist Edition, as the name suggests, is just that.

The car comes with the 190hp Toyota-source 1.8-liter four-cylinder and six-speed manual transmission. Also included are 16-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels with 175/55/16 and 225/45/17 tires. You also get Bilstein shocks and AP Racing brakes. Inside is typically Spartan, although there are leather Probax seats, a leather-wrapped MOMO wheel and air conditioning is standard. In fact, the only option is the Starshield paint protection for $995.

The Lotus Elise Purist Edition is offered in three colors: Ardent Red, Saffron Yellow and (our favorite) Monaco White.

[Source: LotusEnthusiast.net]

The original V8-powered R8 had only been on the streets for a few days when rumors began to surface about a drop-top roadster version of the exotic Audi. Then Audi threw a curve ball with the 12-cylinder turbo-diesel R8 concept before unveiling the V10-powered monster.

Now that the V10 R8 is on the streets, those drop-top rumors have resurfaced.

The U.K. publication WhatCar? is claiming its sources inside Audi have confirmed a convertible version of the R8. More specifically, it will be a soft top.

If Audi is to build a convertible version of the R8, a soft-top is most likely for many reasons. For starters, as the R8 is mid-engined there really isn’t much room for a hard top. Also, we’ve seen Audi stick to soft tops, even on new models like the A5/S5, due, in part, to the fact that Audi’s are notoriously heavy and adding a complex mechanized hard-top would only add to that problem.

It isn’t clear of the convertible version will use the V8 or V10 powerplant but it is supposed to be in dealerships by 2011. If that is the case, Audi might use the Frankfurt Auto Show in September to give us a peek.

[Source: WhatCar]