There are shift paddles behind the steering wheel too for adjusting the brake regeneration, and a touchscreen that looks to host controls for the active aerodynamic elements, suspension settings and launch control. Other visible features include a 360deg camera and an ultrasound sensor in the front grille, presumably for adaptive cruise control.
The cabin is trimmed in a blend of microsuede and Mazda’s plant-based bio-fabric material, in a nod to the firm’s ambitious pledge to be completely carbon neutral by 2050.
As part of that sustainability vision, Mazda has long been vocal about the potential for combustion engines to survive into the future, running on synthetic fuels or hydrogen, rather than petrol or diesel, as a means of ensuring their carbon neutrality.
Mazda envisions that the Iconic SP’s rotary engine would be able to run on “a variety of fuels, including hydrogen” and adds that “if the battery is charged with electricity derived from renewable energy, it is possible to drive in a virtually carbon-neutral state”.
Recently appointed Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro, revealing the concept in Tokyo, said: “We love the MX-5, and the world loves the MX-5. We are determined in the age of electrification to keep the joy of driving which the MX-5 represents alive, and the Mazda Iconic SP, with its dual rotary power generator-EV powertrain, is our dream solution – a dream we will work hard to launch.
