Kia interested in competing with the MX-5

  • Thread starter Thread starter TakeshiSkunk
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Wouldn't be the first time :)

kia-elan.jpg


Kia's badge-engineered Lotus Elan. Never sold it outside of East Asia to my knowledge. I welcome their new project though. They've got a cracking designer at the moment and quality is so much better than it used to be (I can't think of many things worse than their Elan - a British car built in Korea! Recipe for disaster...).
 
I've always had a soft spot for the Elan's appearance....that said I'm not exactly itching to drive one :P
 
I was shocked when they said it was going to be RWD. I doubt it would stay like that, though. Besides, Kia are not a car manufacturer you would associate with fun RWD cars - rather boring FWD grannymobiles.
 
It depends. Their image is improving all the time. Nobody thought Hyundai would make a fun RWD car either and then they came up with the Genesis. And then remember who Hyundai share technology with... ;)
 
Heh. I was being a little tongue-in-cheek. I doubt any future Kia MX5 rival would share a platform with the Genesis. It was just an example to demonstrate that the Hyundai/Kia group aren't incapable of making something fun :)
 
I'd bet the rear diff, motor, and tranny would be genesis bits, sans-turbo.
 
Could well do. Would make more sense than Kia engineering a completely new drivetrain. Might also have the nice side benefit of being over-engineered should the Kia have a fair chunk less power than the Genesis, which I expect it would if it's going to be aimed at the MX5.
 
Yeah, I'd have to agree. Kia was supposed to come out with its version of the Genesis coupe, maybe that was scrapped in favor of this? I'd assume they'll shorten the wheelbase of the Genesis chassis and reuse everything else.
 
Based on the overall positive reviews of the Kia Koupe and the new Optima for their sporting credentials, I see no reason why a MX-5 competitor couldn't exist and be a pretty decent car. They've managed to spruce up the interiors, now they're getting 'em to handle. All Kia needs is a smaller output, higher RPM engine.
 
Wouldn't bank on that happening. Hard to meet MPG and emissions targets with an engine like that. More likely to be a small capacity turbocharged unit. Am I right in thinking I heard somewhere that the next MX5 is going to have a small turbo engine too?
 
I've heard two separate things on the next MX-5. I've heard talk of a smaller SKY engine being used, as well as some kind of Renesis variant. I'd be happy with a small turbo strapped to the little 1.5L unit from the 2, but hey, I'm not in charge at Mazda.
 
I'm skeptical. Anyone else remember 5-10 years ago where manufacturers were announcing that they were going to make a Miata competitor every other month?

Now, Kia is a little different in that Hyundai seems to be doing things recently just because others are doubting their ability to do so, so I'm interested to see how this pans out.

homeforsummer
(I can't think of many things worse than their Elan - a British car built in Korea! Recipe for disaster...).
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And developed under the watchful eyes of GM bean counters!

YSSMAN
I've heard two separate things on the next MX-5. I've heard talk of a smaller SKY engine being used, as well as some kind of Renesis variant.
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Where did you hear that, CrazyRX7Owners.com? The Miata will never have a rotary in it, especially not if the reason they passed on using a revvy I4 in the first place is because of emissions/economy reasons.
 
At least we know this, it will be inexpensive. Can't wait to see them actually make something like this.
 
Toronado
I'm skeptical. Anyone else remember 5-10 years ago where manufacturers were announcing that they were going to make a Miata competitor every other month?
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Except in Europe, it actually happened. Well, maybe a little more than 10 years ago. BMW Z3, Fiat Barchetta, MGF, Lotus Elan M100, the 3rd-gen Toyota MR2... pretty much all of them only exist because of the success of the MX5 and all of them had comparable power for the most part (obviously you could get quicker versions of the BMW and Lotus).

Things go in cycles. We're probably due a bit of a roadster revival around about now, considering that manufacturers are looking to reduce weight again which is great for building lightweight sports cars.

VW have one coming out at some point too, don't they?
 
None of the competition that has cropped up over the years have ever been as successful as the MX-5. The Sky/Solstice twins outsold it for a while in the US, but after the initial furore... they slumped. The Z3 soldiered on and spawned the Z4, but BMW pushed both cars far upmarket of the MX-5... (you can no longer get a 2 liter Z4...)

Not that MX-5 sales have been spectacular these past few years, either... with or without carmageddon, MX-5 sales have been on a downward trend. I wish Mazda would move it back downmarket a bit... a new MX-5 with a 1.5 liter would be a return to the car's roots. It wouldn't be fast... I doubt they could make it lighter than 1,000 kilograms, but it would be nimble and it would be cute. And that's all the MX-5 has ever needed to be to attract it's core audience...

Toronado
Where did you hear that, CrazyRX7Owners.com? The Miata will never have a rotary in it, especially not if the reason they passed on using a revvy I4 in the first place is because of emissions/economy reasons.
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Not to mention the fact that with a Rotary, it'd become an RX-5 Riata, not an MX-5 Miata.

The current I4 is decently revvy by modern standards... 7500 rpm. Not great, not bad. Could use more top-end oomph, for sure.
 
Toronado
Where did you hear that, CrazyRX7Owners.com? The Miata will never have a rotary in it, especially not if the reason they passed on using a revvy I4 in the first place is because of emissions/economy reasons.
Click to expand...

It would have been between the three I frequent. Autoblog, Inside Line and Jalopnik. It sounds stupid, I know. I'd rather have a diesel.
 
Reminds me of the IS-F efforts to beat the M3. They normally work with cars that are similar to their target (Small econoboxes (Kia's) are a bit like small sports cars (MX-5) in the same way luxury sedans (IS) are a bit like sports sedans (M3)), but not quite, and this will show when they finally release a product. The car I expect will be better than the MX-5 in a few significant factors, but worse in the smaller things that really make the car a complete package.

Things to expect:
Bigger, More Power, Stiffer Suspension, Missing the point

I hope I'm wrong and Kia blows everyone away, I'm getting sick of seeing a million race-prepped MX-5's at Track Days :lol:

EDIT:

Lately Kia's have been headed towards the younger "Scion" crowd with cars like the Soul and the Forte which tend to look like Transformers, but are powered by coffee grinders. MX-5's have been quite the opposite (IMHO) and tend to focus more on driving pleasure than outward appearance and pulsing lights on the bass speakers. This will have to be a serious change of pace for Kia
 
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