Pretty Mazda features pretty impressive roof mechanism
I'm quick to admit that I'm not really a technologically minded person. I like cars because they're pretty, they sound cool, and they make me feel fuzzy inside. The tech side of things has always been a bit of a struggle, but I'm learning.
Learning to the point of being transfixed by how the new retractable roof of Mazda's MX-5 RF (short for 'retractable fastback') works — as shown off by the marque on YouTube.
Over the last decade or so Mazda have emphasized their drive to make their cars lighter and more fun to drive; a logic that peaked when the brand launched their ND MX-5 last year. It's a car we rather liked, and one which has helped drag the minute little sports car's reputation back to being in line with the original NA version released almost three decades ago.
But more than that, Mazda decided to add a fastback variant into the mix. You would think with a car as teeny tiny as the MX-5 that a hard-top version would be an idea to be ridiculed, but Mazda appear to have made it work through a fascinatingly detailed series of mechanisms.
Though you can't be travelling any quicker than 10kph while opening or closing the roof, the process will only take 12 seconds — making it one of the fastest retractable hard tops... in the worrrrrld.
Unfortunately additional weight is still something of a drawback with the MX-5 RF, with a reported 80-90kgs of extra heft coming with the metal lid. But that sounds like an almost worthy cost to pay for what could potentially be the best looking MX-5 ever made. And all of that weight is carried in the middle of the car, meaning that hopefully it remains as spritely and joyful to drive as its soft-top brother.