Mazda's updated MX-5 unmasked

Mazda will use the Paris motor show to reveal a nip-tucked version of its evergreen MX-5, but the tweaked drop-top has been prematurely exposed via these leaked images.

The key changes are to the nose of the car, which has been remodelled to more closely mirror the styling of the recently launched second-gen Mazda6 sedan.

Look closely and you'll glean that the updated MX has a sharper snout than the existing car, with a larger 'five-point' grille replacing the current model's oval mouth.

Also new are angrier, more tapered headlights, and a separate housing for the projector-style fog lamps mounted at the outer extremities of the front spoiler.

No technical details are as yet available, but it's possible the 2.0-litre engine's outputs (which currently stand at 118kW and 188Nm) may be bumped up slightly for the latest version.

Overseas sources suggest changes for the new model will include more noise insulation and the addition of a few more hues to the colour chart.

The company's boffins had reportedly been working on a go-faster version (which could have worn Mazdaspeed badges in overseas markets) powered by the Mazda3's 2.3-litre turbo motor, but development of this variant is said to have been canned.

Word has it the MX-5's chassis wasn't up to the rigours of coping with the force-fed engine's 190kW/380Nm outputs. This seems somewhat surprising, given that the superseded (NB) model seemed able to cope (albeit with extensive modifications) with a twin-turbo V8 in the Aussie-built Bullet Roadster.

The third-generation (NC) MX-5 debuted internationally in 2005 and had grown in length and width vis-à-vis its predecessor.

Local sales of the MX-5 have wilted dramatically this year (just 484 sold until the end of August, versus 850 during the same period last year), and this is partly because convertible shoppers now have far more vehicles to choose from than was formerly the case.

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