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RPM TV Website | March 27, 2024

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Folding hardtop for Mazda MX-5

Mazda MX5 RF Mazda MX5 RF Mazda MX5 RF
Adam Schoeman

Mazda will be unveiling a MX-5 with a retractable hardtop at the upcoming New York Motor Show, making it the second MX5 generation to offer a choice of retractable roof designs.

The MX-5 RF, or retractable fastback, features a folding hardtop that is completely automatic, requiring no guidance or unclipping from the driver to retract or to reattach the roof. The roof can be operated on then move at speeds of up to 10km/h.

Even though it is a hard top, the roof folds away in a space similar to that of the soft top, meaning that the top-down luggage space is not negatively impacted, and remains at 130 litres. This has been achieved by stowing the front and middle sections of the roof together, while the rear glass screen slots in behind the rear seats.

Mazda MX5 RF

Mazda MX5 RF

Along with the new roof choice, Mazda has also added the option of selecting an automatic gearbox with the MX-5 RF. The six-speed auto is not a dual-clutch unit, since Mazda has not bought into the technology, instead opting to refine a more conventional automatic gearbox.

The Mazda auto gearbox features a smaller torque converter that is less intrusive during acceleration, and is disengaged by a multi-plate clutch most of the time.

Mazda MX5 RF

Mazda MX5 RF

The roof is expected to slow the MX-5 RF down compared to its slimmer sibling, as the extra weight is relatively significant on a car with a base weight of just 1 050 kg. Expect the 7,3 seconds it takes the 2,0-litre MX-5 to dash from 0-100 km/h to be negatively impacted.

The RF will be available with the same choice of Skyactiv-G 1,5-litre and 2,0-litre engines offered by the soft-top MX-5 in most markets, although the smaller mill is not available in South Africa – and that will be true of the hardtop as well.

The MX-5 RF goes on sale in Europe next year, and will probably be more popular than the soft-top version. According to sales figures, the hardtop Mazda accounted for 80 percent of MX-5 sales, a trend that we expect to be mirrored in South Africa – depending on the price differential, of course.

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