Mazda MX-5 Miata Superlight 2010

Although Mazda won't be following the trend of many automakers and releasing a new supercar at the Frankfurt auto show, the company is using the event to unviel the Mazda MX-5 Superlight concept, a special bare-bones MX-5 meant to celebrate 20 years of the world’s most popular roadster. We brought you initial details and photos of the car last week, when they leaked onto the internet, and now Mazda has confirmed what we pretty much already knew, including that it has no plans to actually produce the car.

The idea behind the Superlight is to emphasize the lightweight nature of the MX-5, and to that end the concept wears neither roof nor windshield. Sculpted, aerodynamic bolsters behind both seats serve as roll bars and house LED brake lights, and there’s a single, wide-angle rearview mirror mounted in front of the driver. A carbon-fiber hood extension protrudes into the cabin and serves as the top for the lightweight plastic and carbon-fiber dashboard.

Inside, things are spartan enough to satisfy even the most weight-averse driver. The air conditioning, fan, carpeting, and sound insulation were all nixed to cut weight. The seats are carbon fiber and covered in the same brown leather that adorns the Superlight’s armrests and dashboard. You also get a push-button starter and aluminum shifter.

Track is widened 2.0 inches, ride height is lowered by 1.1, and new Bilstein coilover shocks and Eibach anti-roll bars are fitted. Larger, cross-drilled disc brakes are gripped by new four-piston calipers, while power comes from the Miata’s Euro-spec 1.8-liter four-cylinder, which puts out just 125 hp and 123 lb-ft of torque with a unique Mazdaspeed intake and exhaust. The gearbox is a conventional five-speed manual taken from the production MX-5, as are the lightweight 17-inch alloy wheels. All the weight trimming yields a curb weight of about 2200 pounds, or nearly 300 pounds less than an American-spec model. That low weight reportedly enables 0-to-62–mph acceleration in 8.9 seconds