Report: Next Generation MX-5 Miata Could Get 70-MPG

Colum Wood
by Colum Wood

Mazda is looking to return to its roots when the next generation MX-5 Miata debuts. According to a report by InsideLine, the car will take inspiration from the MX-5 Superlight Concept and weigh just 2,200 lbs. Mazda has already announced that starting in 2011 it aims to cut the curb weight on all of its new models by at least 220 lbs.

Even more impressive is that it is expected to use the company’s new SKY-G engine, which Mazda debuted recently at the Tokyo Auto Show. Displacing just 1.3-liters, this 4-cylinder isn’t a hybrid or a diesel, but reportedly makes as much as 150-hp and can get anywhere from 50-mpg to 70-mpg!

Mazda has yet to reveal how it managed to get such a high fuel economy number out of this setup, but InsideLine is reporting that industry juggernaut Toyota is impressed and interested in the technology.

Recently Mazda did show a hybrid version of the SKY-G engine in its Kiyora Concept which debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show. Powered by the same 1.3-liter version of Mazda’s new SKY-G engine combined with a six-speed Sky-Drive automatic transmission, Mazda’s i-stop start/stop system and regenerative braking, Mazda says it can achieve 75 mpg.

[Source: InsideLine]

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