Mazda Changes its Tune on a Turbocharged Miata

2016 Mazda Miata (Credit: Mazda)

It’s amazing how quickly things can change in the automotive space. One second, a Mazda executive says “No turbo MX-5, ever!” and the next he is saying “well, we haven’t ruled it out altogether.” At least, this is what the latest report from Motoring.com.au claims.

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You read that right, Mazda is now slightly tweaking its stance on a turbocharged Miata. This comes after the Australian publication grilled program manager of the ND, Nobuhiro Yamamoto, about Mazda global PR honcho, Kudo Hidetoshi, claiming that a turbo model was a possibility.

According to the report, Yamamoto backed down from his “no turbo” soapbox that he stood on just weeks ago when Hidetoshi’s statements were brought to his attention. He then state that his initial statement that there wouldn’t be a turbo was in reference to the initial launch phase of the MX-5, while Hidetoshi’s statement covered the anticipated 10-year lifespan of the ND Miata.

From that point forward, it seems as if Yamamoto was in full backpedal mode and it appeared as if he didn’t really know what was in the works. This leads me to believe that there are, indeed, turbocharging plans in the works, which I have been screaming for since the Mazda announced the ND MX-5. However, it seems as if Yamamoto is a staunch opponent who is being left out of the turbo talks.

There is no mention of whether this potential turbo Miata would be a full-on Mazdaspeed with all the go-fast goodies or just a slightly more powerful model. My though process would be that it’ll be an all-out Mazdaspeed model, especially with the upcoming Mazdaspeed3 set to reintroduce the brand’s performance arm soon.

We’ll continue to monitor this situation and bring you additional updates as they become available.