Alfa Romeo will team up with Mazda to serve up an all-new version of its iconic Spider for 2015 based on the next-generation MX-5.
Both Mazda and Alfa Romeo have signed a provisional deal that will see the two automakers collaborating on all-new versions of its two compact drop-top models, and possibly a slew of others.
An outline plans of project suggests that Mazda and Alfa will develop two “differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific lightweight roadsters, featuring rear-wheel drive”. The two models will also feature “proprietary engines, unique to each brand”. Both cars will be built at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan.
In the case of the Spider, Alfa Romeo will be majoring in power and prestige. The range-topping model will reportedly utilize an updated version of the turbocharged 1,75-litre petrol engine currently earmarked for the company’s 4C sportscar. This aluminium block unit features high-pressure fuel injection and will develop 200 kW.
The Spider will feature a sumptuous interior and, although the design is still some way from being signed off, there are suggestions that the bodywork will incorporate such signature traditional Spider cues as the “barchetta” boat tail. Indeed, the AutoExpress renderings show above hint at such features being married with the edgy design of Alfa’s 2uettottanta concept.
By contrast, Mazda is planning to bring the next MX-5 back to its origins by making it frills-free, dynamically focused and lightweight; with a curb weight under the 1 000 kg mark.
Both cars will be underpinned by a compact rear-wheel drive platform that utilizes Mazda’s lightweight SkyActiv steel spaceframe architecture – set-up currently used in the new CX-5 crossover.
