The current Mazda MX-5 has soldiered on for more than 10 years, almost becoming the antithesis of increasingly heavy electric sports cars by retaining its simple, naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine.
However, this could change soon, because Auto Express has uncovered patents of an MX-5 with electric power – and our exclusive images show how it might look.
New Mazda CX-6e gets enormous screens, rear-wheel drive and choice of hybrid or EV power
The patents, filed in April in the United States, show batteries located in the transmission tunnel section in what is clearly an MX-5-sized vehicle. This is at odds with the conventional ‘skateboard’ architecture seen on most pure-electric vehicles, which would make it difficult to create the low-slung driving position associated with Mazda’s roadster.
Positioning the batteries in the transmission tunnel is nothing new; the latest Lamborghini Revuelto does exactly this with its 3.8kWh unit. While the Lamborghini does this to supplement a plug-in hybrid system, Mazda’s drawings here are related to a pure-electric vehicle.
This rather innovative method to integrate the batteries has been employed to retain the traditional size, shape and weight distribution of the MX-5. Beyond the transmission tunnel, Mazda has also added batteries in front of the passenger seat and behind both seats; the latter is a feature that’ll we’ll see on the new Porsche Cayman EV.
