Vehicles

Replacing a car rated as one of the greatest sports cars of all time – and the best selling two-seat convertible, ever – is a challenge that would make even the best designers and engineers nervous. But when you meet Mazda MX-5 program manager Takao Kijima, he not only seems astonishingly calm, he even quotes from a Japanese artistic ritual Yabusame, which seems to highlight his inner tranquility. Yabusame shows a man on horseback, shooting an arrow into a target. To be successful, they must move as one, in harmony, and this is known as Jinba Ittai. It is this same sense of oneness and dynamic harmony – but this time, between man and machine – that was the overarching philosophy behind the brand new third-generation 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata.