Mazda MX-5 Miata NC NR-A

Identity and introduction

The NR-A was a Japanese-market variant of the third-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata (NC), sold domestically as the Mazda Roadster. Mazda announced it on 23 March 2006 for sale in early April. These are calendar dates, not an export model-year designation. Mazda launch announcement.

Launch specification

The 2006 version paired a 1,998 cc LF-VE DOHC four-cylinder engine with a five-speed manual gearbox. Mazda specified 125 kW (170 PS) at 6,700 rpm and 189 Nm at 5,000 rpm. Distinctive equipment included height-adjustable Bilstein dampers, a torque-sensing Super LSD and front suspension-tower bracing. Standard 16-inch steel wheels differed from the optional aluminium wheels. Mazda specifications.

Motorsport purpose

The NR-A provided a base for Japanese Roadster Party one-make racing, with additional racing equipment required for competition. Mazda scheduled the new version’s events from September 2006. Its historical role continued the accessible competition concept represented by the earlier NB NR-A. Mazda’s account of the programme.

Production and model-line chronology

Production of the NC model family began on 17 May 2005 at Mazda’s Ujina No. 1 plant in Hiroshima, Japan. That date identifies the generation’s manufacturing start, not the later NR-A introduction. Mazda production announcement.

Mazda’s chronology places the third-generation Japanese launch in August 2005, the NR-A introduction in April 2006, the power-retractable-hardtop introduction in August 2006 and the generation’s facelift in December 2008. These were separate developments within the NC range. Mazda MX-5 chronology.

Later Japanese specification

Toyota’s GAZOO catalogue records an NR-A offered from July 2012 to May 2013 as a two-door, two-seat open car with rear-wheel drive, a five-speed manual transmission and a standard limited-slip differential. Its 1,998 cc engine is listed at 125 kW (170 PS) at 7,000 rpm, with 189 Nm at 5,000 rpm. The catalogue also lists 16-inch aluminium wheels as standard. These details belong to that later catalogue period and should not be substituted for the 2006 launch specification. GAZOO NR-A catalogue.

Generation boundary and evidence

Mazda began production of the fourth-generation MX-5 on 5 March 2015. This establishes the succeeding generation’s arrival, but does not establish the last NC NR-A production date. The sources cited here do not provide a variant-specific production total or a precise final assembly date. Mazda fourth-generation production announcement.

The ND Japanese NR-A is catalogued separately because the NR-A designation spans different generations.

Sources

• Mazda: NR-A introduction and Japanese launch specifications, 23 March 2006
• Mazda: third-generation MX-5 production begins, 18 May 2005
• Mazda: MX-5 historical chronology
• Toyota GAZOO: Roadster NR-A catalogue, July 2012–May 2013
• Mazda: fourth-generation MX-5 production begins, 5 March 2015

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata NC NR-A LF-VE 1998 cc Engine

  The 1,998 cc LF-VE powered the Japanese NC NR-A with 170 PS and a five-speed manual at launch.

  Engine