Ever fancied sculpting your own car? What about developing a unique combination of paintwork and interior trim? Well, Mazda’s design bosses have thrown down the gauntlet and set us that very challenge – to design an Auto Express edition of the MX-5.
In order to get a head-start, we’re winging our way to the company’s design studios in Frankfurt, Germany, for some lessons in automotive sculpture. Our unique MX-5 will be a strict one-off, and the finished product will go on display on Mazda’s Zoom Zoom Challenge at the British Motor Show at London’s ExCeL from 23 July to 3 August.
The brilliant MX-5 has been around for 19 years now. It fully deserves its title as the world’s best-selling sports car, thanks to its mix of sublime handling, an excellent short-throw gearbox and a rev-hungry engine. But this popularity comes at a price, as there is a seemingly endless number of MX-5s on the roads. So when we turn up in Frankfurt for our design day, we are determined to craft a sports car to stand out from the crowd.
Reflection
We want a model which will both reflect Auto Express’s brand and have a more masculine and aggressive appearance than the standard MX-5. But not being trained in automotive design, we arrive at the studios with nothing more than a few copies of the magazine for reference... and an open mind!
We are met by Mazda’s European design chief, Peter Birtwhistle. Peter originally kicked off in automotive styling at Vauxhall in the UK and his career quickly progressed. He soon moved to Germany to work for Porsche and Audi, before switching to Mazda in 1988 – so he knows a thing or two about what a car should look like!
Peter leads us through the quiet corridors of the design centre up to our studio for the day. Positioned just outside the door is Mazda’s imposing Furai supercar concept, first seen at the Detroit Motor Show back in January.
As we wander past it, Peter says casually: “You should hear that thing when it fires up: it’s seriously loud.” As we enter the studio, we get our first proper taste of the world of automotive design. It’s a large, brightly lit room filled with countless paintwork and leather samples, sketches, futuristic computer images and a host of bits and pieces from the Mazda parts bin.
Once we have taken in the myriad styling parts, we are greeted by two more of Mazda’s designers: Nigel Ratcliffe and Luciana Silvares. They have both been working for the company for eight years, and have each spent time at the studios in Frankfurt and at Mazda’s headquarters located in Hiroshima, Japan.
Our first challenge is a brainstorm session, where we decide exactly what we want our MX-5 to look like. The designers thumb through a copy of the magazine to get an accurate feel for the contents, and after a quick discussion we quickly settle on three core colours – red, white and black – as these best reflect the Auto Express logo.
But it’s not as easy as simply picking the colours and leaving the designers to get on with it. We have to decide on everything from the paintwork finish to the colour and style of the wheels and the stitching on the seats.
The abundance of choice means we need to put some serious thought into what the finished product is going to look like. “There are so many alternatives open to us that we could design several cars,” says Peter. While it’s tempting to bang out as many sketches as we can in a day, time is of the essence, so we settle on two options and decide we will pick the best one when we’re finished.
Our pair will differ considerably. The first version – which we dub the MX-5 Street Racer – will be an aggressive, beefy take on the car, clad in a tough-looking bodykit with big alloy wheels and low-profile rubber. The second will be a more conservative but still striking variant, with bright, bold colours and a gentlemanly club racer feel. This we name the MX-5 Red Express.
The bodywork is first up for the Auto Express makeover – and as Nigel is the exterior specialist in Frankfurt, we have an expert’s input. His previous projects include the current MX-5’s body, along with a host of other Mazdas. “We’ve been experimenting with different kinds of paint, and developed a satin-like finish – this would really complement the Auto Express special,” he explains. We decide on satin mica black for the Street Racer to add to its sleek, sharp appearance.
Fun though it may be, deciding what looks best on a car is actually a difficult, painstaking task. Fortunately, our experts are on hand to talk us through the process and explain what looks good and why.
Nigel presents a choice of bodykits for the Street Racer and outlines our options: “If you want to emphasise aggression and speed, you’re better off with the sports pack bodykit. This features a larger grille, front and rear diffusers and air intake-like driving lamps.” We waste no time and add the kit to the list for our first design.
To finish off the Street Racer’s exterior, we plump for the top-spec 18-inch alloy wheels in gunmetal grey. The windscreen surround is an identical colour to the wheels, as are the roll-bars. We also add bright red brake calipers and detailing to the front and rear splitters for a little extra pizzazz.
Next we tackle the stylish Red Express. We ditch the dark paintwork and jagged bodykit in favour of a bold red exterior – once again with the luscious satin finish – and a white gloss windscreen surround to emulate the Auto Express lettering.
The white gloss finish also extends to the roll-bars behind the headrests. Senior designer and interior specialist Luciana Silvares tells us why: “It’s a question of getting the balance right. If the design elements complement each other, then the project works.” That might explain why some aftermarket spoilers look so terrible! We finish off the Red Express with a set of optional five-spoke 17-inch alloys. It’s then time to hand over our ideas to Nigel to produce the first computer-generated images.
While he gets busy on screen, Luciana guides us through the intricate process of designing our MX-5’s interior. As with Nigel, she came to Mazda straight from university and has worked on all manner of models during the past eight years.
Getting some first-hand experience of car design certainly makes you appreciate the work that goes into it, as Luciana elaborates: “Few people realise that in automotive styling we have to cater for all markets. The European taste is always different to that in the US, for example, so we have to alter the design depending on where the car is sold.”
We start mulling over ideas for our pair of limited-edition cockpits, and once again discover that there’s a lot more to it than simply deciding on the colour. The MX-5’s standard black leather trim complements the seats well, so our initial reaction is to keep it that way on the Street Racer to match the exterior.
Luciana doesn’t agree: “A red interior might suit the black car,” she says. With that in mind, we pick up armfuls of leather samples and carry them to the grey MX-5 that we have with us for reference.
We crawl all over the car, holding up scraps of hide which range from a deep, dark burgundy to a bright scarlet. We eventually settle on a more neutral shade of red close to that used on our logo, which gives the interior a sophisticated appearance. White stitching matches the Auto Express lettering. We’re so impressed with the red leather cabin on the Street Racer that we want to give the Red Express the same treatment. Yet Luciana says no: “It’s good to match your colours, but it’s too much to have a red cabin and exterior! The black leather would complement the Red Express much better.” We follow her advice, but add subtle red stitching to brighten the interior.
With the bodywork and trim sorted, we take a step back and admire our two MX-5s. Nigel is hard at work and the first computer-generated images are looking great – yet we can’t help thinking we need something a little more special on each car to mark it out as an Auto Express edition.
“We can emboss the magazine’s logo into the seats and add it to the mats,” Luciana suggests. These are the sort of elements that will really define our MX-5. She continues: “We could also fit a set of red racing harnesses to the Street Racer to highlight its sporty nature, and add the logo to the belt clip.”
The final interior detail that we settle on is a unique Auto Express plaque, which will be mounted on the dashboard of both concepts.
Nigel makes the final on-screen amendments to our pair of designs and we gather round to compare the two. Both look terrific and they’re each very different to the standard MX-5. But our limited edition has to be the version that best reflects Auto Express’s unique style.
With that in mind, there’s no doubt the Red Express will be our first choice. The red paint and white gloss finish on the screen surround and headrests perfectly match the logo of the magazine.
You can see the finished model in the metal at the British Motor Show later this month. Meanwhile, don’t miss our next instalment of the MX-5’s development, when our road testers will be beefing up the car’s performance and handling!