According to Autocar, the next-generation Mazda MX-5 will use engineering ideas from the RX-8 and visual cues from the Shinari concept that was revealed at Milan in August. The new car is expected to be unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

The next MX-5 will have a ‘twin-backbone frame’ construction similar to both the RX-8 and the Ibuki concept first revealed at the 2003 Tokyo Show. It will use a revised version of the Ibuki construction and build on the RX-8’s philosophy thereby creating a front mid-engined layout. The company has been patenting elements of the Ibuki’s construction in the US and Japan in recent months

However, the new MX-5 will not look like the Ibuki. Instead it will include elements from the Mazda Shinari concept, which was the first car to showcase Mazda’s new ‘Kodo’ design language.

Power for the next MX-5 is expected to come from one of Mazda’s all-new Skyactiv powerplants. According to sources, “It’ll probably be a 1.5 litre.”

Takao Kijima, the man behind the second and third generations of the iconic roadster, said, “The MX-5 must always be lightweight sports. The car has got bigger and heavier over the past decade, but it’s now time to reverse the process and get back to basics.”

via autocar