Mazda’s lineup for 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon includes a couple of factory-tuned models, such as this Roadster Jinba Ittai.
Jinba Ittai is a Japanese philosophy of some kind which means horse and rider as one, in perfect harmony. That is the principle upon which all the MX-5s are based. No excess, no garnish, just you and the machine.
This special Jinba Ittai MX-5 takes that to the next level. It’s a NR-A race-spec version of the roadster featuring exterior coloring used exclusively by the Mazda team that participates in the annual four-hour endurance race for the media.
Based on NR-A regulations it comes with racing bits and pieces like includes ENKEI 16-inch alloy wheels, Blidgestone 16-inch tires, Bilstein dampers for the 20-milimeter lower vehicle height, Endless brake pads, and TAKATA four-point seatbelts.
It’d be great if Mazda could make a stripped-out super light version of the MX-5 for the roads as well. After all, the MX-5 is famous not for what it has, but for what it hasn’t. It’s car for purists!
