The First Look of Mazda MX-5 Miata RF
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Ever since the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata debuted last year, our imagination has run wild concocting new body styles like a Miata coupe, a Miata retractable hardtop, and even a Miata shooting brake. But we didn’t predict the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata Retractable Fastback (RF), which combines a power-retractable targa top with a gorgeous fastback roofline. In other words, it’s the Miata coupe you’ve been waiting for, only better.
The Miata RF’s power-folding targa top operates like the Porsche 911 Targa’s intricate roof in concept, although it’s somewhat simpler in practice. The 12-second roof-opening process can be performed at speeds up to 6 mph and works thusly: The two roof panels over the occupants’ heads fold while the rear window lowers itself behind the seats and the two flying-buttress supports lift up to accommodate the folded top. Those sail panels, by the way, are a visual trick, wrapping around a conventional trunklid that opens to a cubby with the same 4.6 cubic feet of cargo space as in the Miata softtop.
According to Mazda’s North American president Masahiro Moro, the fourth-generation ND Miata’s shorter overall length doesn’t leave enough space to accommodate a full retractable hardtop like that on the third-gen NC Miata. The RF’s slightly smaller foldable roof fits in the same cubby space that the regular Miata’s softtop folds into behind the seats, keeping the car’s weight balance and interior space uncompromised. That the design allowed Mazda to craft this wonderful roofline that has already won us over is purely a bonus.
Here are below Mazda MX-5 Miata RF's pictures:
Source: www.caranddriver.com
