Mazda MX-5 Miata Fourth Generation (ND)

Overview

The ND is the fourth generation of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, a two-seat, rear-wheel-drive sports car known as the Roadster in Japan. Unveiled in 2014, it entered production and sale in calendar year 2015; North American model years began with 2016. These dates describe different milestones, rather than competing launch years. Mazda’s 2016 press kit documents the fourth-generation introduction.

This record covers the ND generation, including its soft-top and retractable-fastback bodies. It does not assign a production end date. Mazda’s U.S. model page lists a 2026 MX-5 Miata.

Production and launch

Mazda’s contemporary production announcement records the start of ND production on 5 March 2015 at Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima, Japan. The first cars were intended for Japan, with overseas introductions following.

The subsequent Japanese launch announcement, dated 20 May, specified sales from 21 May 2015. This confirmed date superseded the earlier production announcement’s approximate June sales forecast. Japanese launch cars used the Roadster name and a 1.5-litre Skyactiv-G petrol engine.

Design and engineering

Development retained the MX-5’s emphasis on low mass and driver involvement while introducing Skyactiv technology and Mazda’s Kodo design language. The Japanese launch description identifies an engine positioned behind the front axle and increased use of aluminium and high-strength steel to reduce weight. These were central engineering choices, rather than a change to the car’s two-seat, rear-wheel-drive purpose. See Mazda’s launch account.

The ND combined a low nose, compact cabin and sculpted surfaces with a manually operated fabric roof. Its chassis used double-wishbone front suspension, a multilink rear arrangement and electric power-assisted steering. The 2016 U.S. press kit describes the design and chassis in detail.

Soft-top and RF bodies

The fabric-roof roadster was joined by the MX-5 RF, meaning Retractable Fastback. Unveiled in March 2016, the RF combined a powered retractable roof and rear window with a fastback silhouette. It was a body alternative within the fourth generation.

RF production began on 4 October 2016, also at Ujina Plant No. 1. Although Mazda initially forecast early-2017 overseas launches, its 22 November 2016 U.S. announcement confirmed that the 2017-model-year RF had already gone on sale in the United States.

Engines and market differences

Engine availability must be read by market and body style. Japan’s 2015 soft-top launch used the 1.5-litre Skyactiv-G engine. Mazda’s global RF introduction specified 1.5- or 2.0-litre Skyactiv-G petrol engines according to destination, with the 2.0-litre designated for North America.

The 2016 U.S. press kit lists Sport, Club and Grand Touring trims with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. These are market-specific equipment grades, not separate generations. Transmission availability and chassis equipment changed with trim and model year, so a specification from one version should not be applied to every ND.

Development within the generation

For the U.S. 2019 model year, Mazda substantially revised the 2.0-litre engine. Changes included lighter pistons and connecting rods, revised breathing and combustion, and a higher operating limit. The resulting U.S. rating was 181 horsepower at 7,000 rpm, with a 7,500-rpm redline. A telescoping steering wheel was another addition. Mazda announced these changes in June 2018 for the 2019 model year; the figures should not be assigned to earlier cars or to the 1.5-litre engine.

The U.S. 2024 update brought revised steering hardware and calibration, updated lighting and an enlarged infotainment display. Mazda also introduced an available asymmetric limited-slip differential and a track-oriented stability-control mode for the Club. These were developments within the ND generation, with equipment dependent on version.

Historical significance

The ND carried the MX-5’s lightweight roadster concept into Mazda’s Skyactiv era while retaining its two-seat layout and rear-wheel drive. The RF broadened the choice of roof design without replacing the fabric-roof car. Recognition included the 2016 World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year awards, recorded in Mazda’s RF production announcement.

For the model’s beginnings, see the first-generation MX-5 Miata (NA). The MX-5 Miata model record provides the parent context.

Sources and image credit

• Mazda: Japanese Roadster launch, May 2015.
• Mazda: start of fourth-generation MX-5 production.
• Mazda: 2016 U.S. MX-5 press kit.
• Mazda: RF global debut and market-specific engines.
• Mazda: RF production start and 2016 awards.
• Mazda: actual U.S. RF sales introduction.
• Mazda: U.S. 2019-model-year changes.
• Mazda: U.S. 2024-model-year changes.
• Mazda USA: 2026 MX-5 Miata model page.
• Damian B Oh: Mazda MX-5 ND photograph, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Browse related records

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7 records

• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND 30th Anniversary Edition

  A numbered anniversary variant introduced in 2019, offered in Racing Orange with soft-top and RF bodies and an announced worldwide limit of 3,000 cars.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND Japanese NR-A

  The Japanese Roadster NR-A combined the ND’s 1.5-litre engine and six-speed manual transmission with equipment intended for circuit use and grassroots competition.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND Japanese RS Soft Top

  Introduced in Japan on 1 October 2015, the ND Roadster RS combined Bilstein dampers, larger brakes and dedicated Recaro seats with the 1.5-litre manual drivetrain.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND Japanese S

  The S was the entry Japanese launch grade of the ND Roadster, pairing a 1.5-litre engine with a six-speed manual transmission.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND Japanese S Leather Package

  The leather-equipped Japanese ND launch grade combined the SKYACTIV-G 1.5 engine with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND Japanese S Special Package

  The S Special Package was a Japanese ND Roadster launch grade offering manual or automatic transmission, positioned between S and S Leather Package.

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• Mazda MX-5 Miata ND RF Retractable Fastback

  Introduced in 2016, the MX-5 RF combined the ND generation’s two-seat sports-car layout with an electrically retractable roof and distinctive fastback bodywork.

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