#Mazda V705

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Mazda V705, 1985, by IAD. International Automotive Design of Worthing, England, were commissioned to produce a prototype for a new Mazda sports car that had first been suggested to Mazda in 1976. The go-ahead for the project had been granted in 1982 with the concept development being turned into a competition between the Mazda design teams in Tokyo and California. The US proposal for a front engine/rear drive roadster in the British tradition won and it was a UK company who were chosen to take the project to the next stage. The V705 had a fibreglass body and 1.4 litre engine from a Mazda Familia and was shipped to California for market testing. Overwhelming positive reactions saw the project get final approval on January 19, 1986. Development was then moved to Japan with the first generation NA series MX-5 Miata being unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show on February 10, 1989

[oldmotors]

In 1989, traditional affordable roadsters were all but dead. Aside from Reliant’s low-volume, Europe & UK-only SS1, traditional British sports cars had been gone for years, the Fiat spider too. Only the Alfa Spider remained, although the Toyota MR2 and Bertone X1/9 were still in production. But all through the 1980s - dating back to a conversation between then-auto writer Bob Hall and Mazda exec Kenichi Yamamoto in Japan in 1978 - Mazda had been slowly working on a car that would rekindle this market. That spring, it debuted as the original MX-5/Miata. - Hall suggested the idea for a modern roadster to Yamamoto in that original convo, but nothing happened - Mazda was then launching the RX-7, the kind of car that ate away at traditional roadster markets in the 1970s. But in 1981 Hall joined Mazda as a product planner in California and, to his surprise, was tasked with developing the idea - in the background as other projects (like the MPV minivan) allowed. The ideas gradually coalesced around three different schools of thought in different design studios - an X1/9-MR2 style middie (Tokyo), a CRX-like front-driver (Hiroshima), and California’s traditional FR roadster (called “Duo 101”). - The last won out. Just as this NA #Miata is a treasured car today, aging cars like MGBs, TR-6s, and Lotus Elans - still affordable in the 1980s - were prized by enthusiasts - a few of whom noticed the IAD-built V705 prototype on a 1985 outing from the development center. Hall, Mazda’s U.S. design chief Tom Matano, and especially project chief Toshihiko Hirai (himself a former Fiat 850 spider owner) knew an underserved market when they saw one. Many stylists were involved - Mark Jordan, Masao Yagi, Matano, Shunji Tanaka. The car’s handling and light weight gave it just the right balance. Power came from an 1,839-cc 16V four (later, a 1.6 was added for some markets where the 1.8 was taxed as a 2L). - In early 1989, when the car broke cover, the product planners were vindicated - Mazda had hoped to sell 20,000 MX-5s annually (with 1989 being a shorter year), but Mazda dealers were inundated with orders for almost twice that - and there was, for the first year or two. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1MMD1dlC6r/?igshid=gj5b2r57dfxb

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Honda CR-X Spyder, 1985, by R. Straman Co. A Californian conversion of Honda’s first generation CR-X, exact production numbers are hard to come by but it seems several hundred cars were converted. The conversion process was factory authorised and the cars could be purchased through Honda dealers or you could take your CR-X Coupé direct to Stramans in Costa Mesa, California, to have its top chopped. Interesting to note that a CRX Spyder was used for comparison in a styling clinic by Mazda when they were testing the V705 (the car that became the Miata/MX-5).

[petrolhead-carspotters]

So the Roadster has more connection to Britain than I thought.. But context suggests IAD isn't the one that did the designing. Mazda design studio did.

"Mazda design studio acquired a vintage Lotus Elan as a source of inspiration for the designers. International Automotive Design (IAD) in Worthing, England was commissioned to develop a running prototype, codenamed V705."

The Roadster is still very much Japanese.

IAD TRX Concept, 1980. The fledgling International Automotive Design presented this prototype at the Birmingham Motor Show. It was based on the Triumph TR7 and featured glassy, 2+2 fastback styling with a T-bar roof. Many people saw it as a proposal for a restyled TR7 though it was more of a showcase for the new company's talents. By 1985 Triumph was dead but IAD went on to design the first generation Mazda MX-5/Miata