Mazda Miata stokes more fire power with new special editions
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. -- This trip is too cool: A pair of two-seat Miata roadsters, each with its top dropped and the engine stoking more fire power in updated editions of 2001, chases one another over a narrow blacktop strip laced through fir-covered hills southeast of Seattle.
We're running the route as a single unit, the round prow of a trailing Miata hanging only a meter off the back bumper of our leading Miata.
Each driver plays the six-speed stick with one hand and steers a fat and sporty steering wheel with the other, using the right foot to accelerate and the left one to decelerate in racer style as the cars cut clean and quick lines across apexes of so many curves.
These pint-size roadsters, riding on chassis measurably stiffer in the new editions, rely on independent double-wishbone suspension systems mounted with larger 16-inch wheels and performance tires to hug every contour of the twisty course.
Perfect weight balance -- engine up front and power directed to rear wheels with precisely half the vehicle's load resting on the front wheels and the other half on the rear ones -- sets up that Miata magic of predictable vehicle control for the driver.
No other car comes close to matching the precision of Miata's pavement dance, but no other car -- even powerful mega-bucks sportsters -- feels this fun to drive.
And the new editions kindle more fire in the belly.
They're noticeably quicker, as the revamped dual-cam 1.8-liter and four-cylinder Miata engine expands in strength with a power and torque gain made possible through the addition of new variable valve timing on the intake cam plus an increase in the plant's compression ratio (rising from 9.5:1 to 10.0:1).
Output now extends to 142 hp at 7000 rpm with torque spiked to 125 lb-ft at 5000 rpm.
Two trim versions appear this year, the base Miata and an upscale Miata LS that adds a High Performance suspension package with 16-inch tires and an optional six-speed manual transmission.
Further, a Miata Special Edition emerges in the spring wearing classic British Racing Green paint and exclusive equipment, such as a Nardi wood steering wheel and shifter knob, chrome-plated aluminum fuel door and polished aluminum wheels.
Despite the power boost for 2001 issues, Miata has not strayed far from the original concept, which first appeared in the creative mind of Tom Metano, a California-based Mazda designer, 15 years ago.
It promised the appeal of a 1960s British roadster but bulletproof durability of a contemporary Japanese machine.
The first production version of Miata arrived as a 1990 model and became an instant hit, then scored time after time on every critic's "Ten Best" list of cars.
Despite subtle changes in subsequent models, Miata remained essentially the same car through nine years: A pure two-person open-top roadster rigged with a small engine but ideal weight balance, plus the shortest stick shifter in the industry.
Then for the 1999 issues Metano led Mazda's California design team in devising a second generational expression of Miata that was more sleekly styled and more powerful.
That edition rode on a stronger chassis with wheels spread wider to forge a broader track and boost stability, as the roll center for the front suspension was lowered to make Miata even more agile.
Miata's exterior package was also restyled to appear more muscular, with a humpy shoulder added above each wheel and curvy undulations on front and rear decks. Former flat side panels showed sculptural depth, with each door's trailing cut-line sweeping up at the rear to mimic doors on Mazda's former hatchback coupe, the RX-7.
At the nose, Miata's original flip-up lights were discarded in favor of more sophisticated and sleek exposed oval headlamps that wrapped the corners and formed a snake-eyed face in counterpoint to the oval grille mouth.
More changes occurred in Miata's tight cockpit with new bucket seats and a new instrument panel.
Then in the trunk, once big enough for only a gym bag, Miata gained a flat floor by moving the spare tire and battery below a floor partition. The revised larger compartment could accommodate two sets of golf clubs.
The 2001 Miata evolves further with subtle improvements that hone styling and enhance performance.
Exterior modifications make Miata look more aggressive. The face sports a bold five-point grille and new larger headlamps with multi-surface reflectors and projector beam lamps, while at the tail two combo lamp clusters show shapes similar to the front lights.
Larger 15-inch alloy wheels become the standard for Miata now, with the optional 16-inch alloy wheels and performance suspension package available for Miata LS.
In the cockpit, materials move upscale in look and feel, with new high-back bucket seats in place and new analog gauges in the instrument cluster flashing vivid white faces ringed in beads of chrome.
The LS version adds additional hints of chrome to trim elements plus a leather-wrapped Nardi steering wheel.
A second air bag tucks into the dashboard above the passenger-side glove box and connects to a key-operated de-activation switch.
Behind the twin seats a high deck shows a storage net and stiff lateral brace, where a flip-up windbreak flap can be used with the top down to spoil air flowing over the windshield and backing into the cockpit.
Miata's manual folding convertible top, easiest to operate among all drop-tops, has a glass rear window with built-in defogging heat element. The driver can unlock this top and flip it down in seconds while stopped in traffic.
Other changes improved the roadster's dynamics, such as larger disc brakes. And Miata LS has optional ABS control with Electronic Brake Distribution, while the optional Suspension Package installs a strut tower brace, Torsen limited-slip differential and Bilstein shocks.
Base Miata stocks power steering, power windows and power mirrors, air conditioning, foglamps and an audio system with CD deck. Miata LS adds tan leather seat surfaces, a tan top, cruise control, power door locks, the 16-inch wheels and limited-slip differential, remote entry system and a 200-watt Bose audio kit with four speakers.
Pricing for this latest Miata begins at only $21,180.
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| 2001 MAZDA MIATA VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Roadster convertible |
| Model Options: |
Roadster convertible |
| Wheelbase: |
89.2 inches |
| Overall Length: |
155.7 inches |
| Engine Size: |
DOHC 1.8-L I4 |
| Transmission: |
Miata: Manual/5, Auto/4, LS: Manual/5, Manual/6, Auto/4 SE: Manual/6, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Rear |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/opt. ABS/EBD |
| Airbags: |
2 (front) |
| Gas Mileage: |
M/5: 23/28 mpg, M/6: 23/28 mpg, A/4: 22/28 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 21,180 to $ 27,470 |
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