Rebirth of an Icon

Now into its third generation, the new Mazda MX-5 is finally here and, with a retractable hard-top, intends to bring the fight straight to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SLK and BMW Z4.  Photos by Shahzeeq. 

Imagine for a moment, a world without the Mazda MX-5. At a time when small, rear-wheel driven roadsters were unheard of (or, like the original MG, highly unreliable) the Mazda single-handedly took an untested market by storm. Had the MX-5 not been invented, none of today’s small roadsters would exist. Presumably, that would also mean that both BMW’s Z3 (and Z4) and Mercedes-Benz’s original SLK would never have seen the drawing board. The MX-5 was a design that was ahead of its time, and now over 800,000 cars and many years later, its compact, front-engine rear wheel drive orientation is still very, very relevant.

Expected to be unveiled at the Los Angeles Motorshow, the new F430 Scuderia Spider is Ferrari's most expensive F430 yet, with a price tag north of 250,000 Euros. Sharing the same lightweight materials as the hard-top Scuderia, the Spider is expected to do 0-100km/h in under 3.6 seconds and a top speed of at least 310km/h with the roof up. Right now, the Scuderia Spider is largely brandished as the Spideria - to Ferrari's chagrin - around the web and a fair amount of criticism has been laid upon the car, claiming that a topless Scuderia is a pointless exercise, since it will hardly share the same rigidity as the coupe.