MAZDA MX-5 GT RS

Harder-edged version of Mazda’s icon

- DANIEL GARDNER

ENGINE 1998cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v

POWER 135kW @ 7000rpm

TORQUE 205Nm @ 4000rpm 0-100KM/H 6.5s

WEIGHT 1052kg

PRICE $47,0204.5 Rating

LIKE: Most focused MX-5 to date; genuine utility on road and track

DISLIKE: Price is getting up there; no auto; loses original’s loping body control

OVER THEIR various lifecycles, cars, much like people, tend to get bigger, fatter and more ungainly. But just occasionally, a model will buck the trend as if it discovered the chalice of eternal youth. That’s why the ND-generation Mazda MX-5 is one of the most astonishingly good sportscars in recent memory.

Instead of piling on the pounds and inches and following the lead of the NB and NC, the ND returned to first principles and, despite offering all the safety and convenience features any new car requires, is about the same size and weight as the original NA that launched three generations before it. The little Japanese hero leaves a lasting impression not with massive power outputs and bone-shattering suspension, but with pure finesse in an admirable demonstration of restraint and minimalism.

Which is why the addition of a new flagship variant might be cause for concern. It’s called the MX-5 GT RS and it has a number of modifications that, says Mazda, makes it more at home on a circuit.

In place of the standard alloy wheel, the RS has BBS forged rims with a new cross-spoke design, there are Brembo four-piston brakes on the front axle and, most controversially, stiffer Bilstein dampers and a strut brace.