Wednesday 11th November 2015

Mazda MX-5 Sport Recaro Edition

Standard MX-5 simply too reasonably priced for you? Mazda's fixed that for you with a new special edition!

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We like Mazda MX-5s. We also like Recaro seats. 'Slow news day is it?' accusations may follow but the combination of the two into a £24,295, 600-car limited edition caught our attention as Mazda follows its tradition of manifold special editions spun off the base roadster platform.

Here in the UK these have generally been about special colours and quirky extras like the leather owner's wallet supplied with the NA MX-5 California; in Japan things were a little more involved up to and including the much hyped RS Limited, which made much of the fact it came with fancy ... Recaro seats! These remain hugely desirable among MX-5 fans, swapping hands for as much as an entire car if you can find someone selling a pair. Original RS Limiteds with their Recaros and other signature upgrades intact are much sought after, this fresh import with Goodwood Sportscars advertised for just shy of eight grand - two or three times what you'd pay for a less exotic Eunos. Some premium for some fancy seats.*

The mark-up for this new Recaro equipped MX-5 is thankfully not that much but Mazda clearly senses opportunity to accommodate those for whom the standard car's purist approach is simply too cheap! Based on the current range topping 2.0 Sport Nav with the Bilstein damped sports suspension and limited-slip diff, it adds those tasty looking seats, an Alcantara dashboard panel (albeit not where it would be any use to reduce reflections), a Sports Aero kit comprising black rear spoiler, skirts and front air dam and 17-inch diamond cut wheels.

Clearly nothing added to this car actually makes it go any faster but it does at least look the part and, if you've an eye to future tuning, might add some visual substance to your efforts. Cynicism aside it's a fair amount of extra kit for a grand on the price of the standard car. No MX-5 press release would be complete without a bit of Jinba Ittai feeling either and, inevitably, we're promised enhanced sense of connection thanks to the figure-hugging Recaros. A pity there's not any extra oomph to really test the theory or live up to the looks.

*Yes, there's more to the RS Limited than the Recaros...

[Sources: Bourne Road Garage]

[Edmundo2]

I can't understand we they've never done a hot version? It looks a great little car as did those that came before it but why not a limited edition with some nice finishing touches + 200 bhp + and a better noise? The reviews of BBR conversions etc seem to confirm that the extra grunt really makes the difference..

Mk 1 and Mk2's look like great cheap fun for £2.5k but I can't understand how anybody looking for a sports car could spend £25k on one of these and not feel slightly underwhelmed when said budget could buy all manner of nearly new cars that have that extra bit of grunt that really complements a good chassis and completes the package. I know it's not all about speed and you'd always have the base model if desired but I can't help thinking 200bhp, ( or even 175bhp ), in a 1000kg limited edition car which is good looking, small nimble, cheap to run and practical is a cracking recipe? 130 bhp per ton less so.

[Edmundo2]

Yes that was my point - the first special edition is all about new seats??? It's early days yes but so far no hot version of the previous models so are we to assume there's not going to be one this time either. I appreciate there's tuner options etc but that all costs more money so you buy you £25k mx5 with special edition seats and then have to spend another £5k tuning to get to the 200bhp. Just seems like they're missing a trick but hey ho, I'll leave em to it ..

Ryvita said:

Edmundo2 said:

I can't understand we they've never done a hot version?

Have I dropped through a wormhole to the year 2020? I only saw my first one of these on the street two weeks ago. A little premature to start bemoaning the lack of a boosted version isn't it?

That said, the likelihood based on previous models is that there won't be. Mazda seem to be perfectly happy for others (BBR etc.)to act as their AMG, Alpina or Ruf equivalent. The MX-5 has always been a mass-market appeal car without having to shoot for performance figures or ring times. Yes, enthusiasts can make it do all those things but 90% (95%? 98%?) of buyers just don't care.

Edit: I guess you were implying never done a hot version across all the models, rather than just the latest, but my point still stands.