10 Things You Should Know About Mazda Sports Cars

Fast, lightweight and fun, discover the secret recipe behind iconic Mazda sports cars

Mazda has always been considered a relatively small manufacturer with a small catalog too. But, it always punches way above its weight. A huge part of that has been its best-selling sports cars which gave the brand its current reputation. Whether it is a drifting RX-8 you saw at a blockbuster movie or a convertible MX-5 you spotted at a mall, Mazda sports cars are pretty hard to miss. Since gaining popularity with their affordability and agile driving dynamics, a steady stream of new and former drivers have joined in and turned the little red Mazda rockets into cult classics.

As expected, Mazda continues to innovate and perfect its niche vehicles within the wider sports car segment. And though there are generational changes to key elements like engineering, design, and technology - the customer focus and driving philosophy have never changed. As Mazda forges its path through the 2020s, hardcore fans, and critics await a fresh take on that two-door Mazda magic. So, what makes these speedsters iconic? Read on to find out ten reasons you’ll want a Mazda sports car too.

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These days, cars are so ubiquitous and drab that you can get lost in a parking lot. Mazda's cars, however, stand out due to their vibrant paintwork that gives off a radiant depth. Internally, Mazda has developed intricate approaches to painting, the most recent being the Takuminuri technique. Like most sports car manufacturers, their efforts have been geared to various bright colors but the color that has the longest association with Mazda is red.

In Japanese culture, red speaks of passion and strength. And Mazda is keen on embodying that because two out of the four Takuminuri colors are red. More precisely, the much-beloved ‘soul red crystal’, has competition in a sultrier ‘artisan-red’. Mazda once said they are in search of the most beautiful red, and when you see one of their sleek models, it's hard to disagree.

One of the greatest perks of owning a Mazda sports car is that you still had money left over to go somewhere fun with it. Unlike other manufacturers, Mazda sports cars have always been priced competitively, even relative to regular sedans. For instance, their most expensive offering in the US currently; the MX-5 Miata RF hardtop convertible, comes in at less than $40,000 MSRP.

With the regular 2023 Mazda MX‑5 Miata selling for just less than 30 grand, the price is impossible to beat. And that's not just journalistic hyperbole, you cannot find a better deal for a brand-new convertible anywhere in the country. That kind of affordability means that if you ever desire you can even get an older RX-7, trick it out, and wow the crowds your local car meet.

When you get your first Mazda sports car delivered, do not be taken aback, they are surprisingly small in person. Besides regulations that favor smaller vehicles, Japan has quite narrow roads and small parking spaces, hence the entire category of ‘Kei’ cars. Although Mazda sports cars are not exactly part of that category, they are influenced by Japanese regulations to be much smaller than their American competitors.

Despite their size, the cabins are decent enough, with all the cutting-edge modern electronics too. And there is a benefit to the compact dimensions as well; the low height and short wheelbase give you much better maneuverability and agility around tight corners and cramped parking spaces. After driving a Mazda sports car, you might best describe the car as nimble rather than small.

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Ever since the first Mazda, the tiny rear-engine R36, weight considerations have been a huge part of the engineering. The continuation of this approach in the form of the ‘gram strategy’, wherein the focus is placed on saving as much curb weight as possible, the 2022 mx-5 was their lightest offering in 30 years, and it weighed only 2,183 pounds. As you would imagine, a key part of these efforts has focused on using lighter materials and manufacturing more elegant components.

Mazda, in this sense, has been on the cutting edge by using costlier, yet lighter materials like aluminum, and by optimizing components through minimalist design and better casting techniques. Since they do all this weight-saving without affecting vehicle strength or safety - Mazda sports cars remain fast, and perhaps more importantly, fuel-efficient.

In addition to their sharp low-slung sporty looks, Mazda sports cars through the decades have spotted sharp lines and sleek curves. These styling elements help to give the car a certain feline Mazda look that has persisted over generations of models. The cars also retain a lot of character through the way they integrate technologies of their day.

The 90s Mazda roadsters for instance are still dear and beloved to those who still want that 90s look of pop-up headlights, retro styling, and larger profile tires. The interior, however, takes the cake for influencing both the look and ambiance from the driver's perspective. Thanks to Mazda's focus on detail, most of their sports cars have relatively refined interiors that make the low seating positions a much more pleasant place to be.

As soon as you press the accelerator and turn your two-door Mazda off the driveway, you’ll sense that gripping satisfaction of precise handling.. With that low center of gravity, aerodynamics, and steering input precision there isn't any way to turn it wrong. The frame of Mazda sports cars is too light for any real body roll, the weight also means that the brakes are more effective, and even the quick acceleration and sportier transmission feel can be pinned back on that weight reduction.

Of course, other key factors like the double-wishbone suspension and forged rims in newer models, further improve responsiveness- but in essence, it is the weight-saving fundamentals that give Mazda sports cars that nimbleness. So even with that zippy power-to-weight ratio, any driver can smoothly control their Mazda without always worrying about insurance.

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What is unique about old-school Mazda sports cars, is not necessarily the build or colors, good as they may be. A huge part of what made Mazda's name legendary is their now-discontinued rotary engine. Although the Wankel rotary engine design was made in the 50s, Mazda only first used it in the Mazda Cosmo Sport in the late 60s. And despite some increasingly painful drawbacks, this iconic engine was the perfect choice for Mazda earlier on.

Because of its lightweight compact form, fewer moving parts, smoother performance, and higher rev limit, RX-8 owners got to spit flames. However, since 2012, those hyped triangular rotors haven't cut it, and Mazda's in-line four won the battle on fuel economy. Not all is lost though, the Rotary coming in the rumored RX-7 successor hints at a revival.

Liking a Mazda sports car is easy. Why? Because you see that long hood and unusually forward front fenders, and you know right away what you're getting. However, unless you were interested in the deeper underlying engineering, you wouldn't know exactly how to describe that immediately recognizable Corvette-like sports car look. The answer is the front mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, i.e. the FMR.

As you might guess, the result of having the engine sit right behind the front axle is a different driving dynamic. It is not just the front wheels that have less load and move more freely, the entire car is weighted more evenly. The new Mazda mx-5's have even achieved that much-envied 50:50 weight ratio. And because the engines are not overpowered, Mazda sports cars remain fun and controllable.

Given all those tweaks and designs, it would be tragic if Mazda sports cars did not focus on its core audience - the drivers. Mazda sports cars pay special attention to driver comfort and ease. They do this by setting up the controls, gauges, pedals, and everything to cater to the driver's lowered seating position.

The benefit of course is that in every version and model of Mazda sports cars, you receive intuitive controls, concise displays, ergonomic seating, clear viewing angles, and a ride quality that's firm but not jarring. Other than entering one of their sports cars, and especially the newer ones, there's no real way of explaining that perfect positioning and layout. Though some efforts include the passenger too, you can tell that this is a true driver's car.

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If you think about it, everything that can be said about Mazda sports cars, could in theory be distilled right down into one neat design philosophy. Well in Mazda's case that philosophy is called Jinba-Ittai, which is Japanese for ‘horse and rider as one’, and you can see why. Mazda sports cars are not necessarily the fastest, loudest or glitziest, but, what you get with every one of their cars is a sense of unbridled oneness with your vehicle.

This deliberate focus is what ties the weight savings to the steering feel, and so on. The point is that as you drive wordlessly into the fading sunset, you will slowly sense that all the first-class engineering and anticipation is turning into an unforgettably exquisite experience.

Ernest Lemaiyan is both a car and writing enthusiast. He joined Topspeed in 2023 after obtaining his Master's from Cornell University. Though he seems bookish, he has been known to drive around at speeds bordering the legal limit.