Beginning this September, Mazda’s new third-generation MX5 soft top roadster will be joined by a second model with a power retractable hard top.

The three-panel hard top of the Mazda MX5 Roadster Coupe is very lightweight and made of high quality plastic composite material. It folds back into such a compact space behind the seats that the 150 litres of boot space remains untouched. Changing from compact coupe to racy open-top roadster, or from roadster to coupe, takes only 12 seconds (the quickest on the market today).

Although 17 years old, the Mazda MX5 is already an absolute classic. An object of cult-like adoration, it has enjoyed unbroken popularity since launch in 1989. At the Geneva Motor Show last year, Mazda introduced the third generation of the Mazda MX5 that followed in the footsteps of two predecessors, whose success surprised even the most optimistic forecasters.

Since 2000, Mazda MX5 has been in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful open, two-seater vehicle ever. Since that date, the publisher has kept adjusting the sales figures upward with each new edition of the book. At the end of June 2006, the number stood at 774,372 units produced worldwide and demand for the current version of the cult roadster remains high in Europe, North America and Japan. The number of prizes and awards Mazda’s roadster has won around the world is equally as impressive – over 150 to date.