Editing Mazda MX-5 (section)

==Conception==
In 1976, [[Bob Hall (American motoring journalist)|Bob Hall]], a journalist at ''[[Motor Trend]]'' magazine who was an expert in Japanese cars and fluent in the language, met [[Kenichi Yamamoto (engineer)|Kenichi Yamamoto]] and Gai Arai, head of Research and Development at Mazda. Yamamoto and Gai Arai asked Hall what kind of car Mazda should make in the future:<ref name=Liz_Turner>''You and Your MX5/Miata'', Liz Turner 2002, Haynes Publishing, {{ISBN|1-85960-847-7}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|I babbled [...] how the [...] simple, bugs-in-the-teeth, wind-in-the-hair, classically-British sports car doesn't exist any more. I told Mr. Yamamoto that somebody should build one [...] inexpensive roadster.<ref name=bob-hall>{{cite web|url=http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/convertibles/0503_ikigai_man |title=Ikigai Man: Bob Hall and the Original Mazda Miata – Details on the history of Bob Hall's influence on the design, development and manufacture of the MX-5 |website=Automobilemag.com |date=2005-01-23 |access-date=2014-12-27}}</ref>}}

In 1981, Hall moved to a product planning position with Mazda USA and again met Yamamoto, now chairman of Mazda Motors, who remembered their conversation about a roadster and in 1982 gave Hall the go-ahead to research the idea further.<ref name=Liz_Turner/> At this time Hall hired designer [[C. Mark Jordan|Mark Jordan]] to join the newly formed Mazda design studio in Southern California. There, Hall and Jordan collaborated on the parameters of the initial image, proportion and visualization of the "light-weight sports" concept. In 1983, the idea turned concept was approved under the "Offline 55" program, an internal Mazda initiative that sought to change the way new models were developed. Thus, under head of project Masakatsu, the concept development was turned into a competition between the Mazda design teams in Tokyo and California.<ref name=Liz_Turner/>

The California team proposed a [[front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout]], codenamed Duo 101, in line with the British roadster ancestry, but their Japanese counterparts favored the more common [[front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout]] or the [[rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://jalopnik.com/the-miata-could-have-been-mid-engined-or-even-fwd-1630700456 |title=The Miata Could Have Been Mid-Engined Or Even FWD |first=Jason |last=Torchinsky |journal=Jalopnik |location=US |date=2014-09-04 |access-date=2017-05-14}}</ref>

The first round of judging the competing designs was held in April 1984, with designs presented on paper only. The mid-engined car appeared to offer favorable qualities, although it was known at the time that such a layout would struggle to meet the noise, vibration, and harshness ([[Noise, Vibration, and Harshness|NVH]]) requirements of the project. It was only at the second round of the competition in August 1984, when full-scale clay models were presented, that the Duo 101 won the competition and was selected as the basis for what would become the MX-5.

The Duo 101, so named as either a soft top or [[hardtop]] could be used, incorporated many key stylistic cues inspired by the [[Lotus Elan]], a 1960s roadster, including the door handles, tail lamps and grille opening as well as engine appearance and center console layout. [[International Automotive Design|International Automotive Design (IAD)]] in [[Worthing]], England, was commissioned to develop a running prototype, codenamed V705. It was built with a fiberglass body, a {{convert|1.4|L|cuin|abbr=on}} engine from a [[Mazda Familia]] and components from a variety of early Mazda models. The V705 was completed in August 1985 and taken to the US where it rolled on the roads around [[Santa Barbara, California]] and got positive reactions.

The project received final approval on 18 January 1986.<ref name=Liz_Turner/> The model's codename was changed to P729 as it moved into the production phase, under head of program Toshihiko Hirai. The task of constructing five engineering ''mules'' (more developed prototypes) was again allocated to IAD, which also conducted the first front and rear [[crash test]]s on the P729. While [[Tom Matano]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/road-tests/on-wheels-mazda-mx5-mkiii-474675.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/road-tests/on-wheels-mazda-mx5-mkiii-474675.html |archive-date=2022-05-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mazda MX-5 MkIII |publisher=Independent.co.uk |date=2006-04-23 |access-date=2011-06-02}}</ref> Mark Jordan, Wu-huang Chin ({{lang|zh|秦無荒}}, also on the [[Mazda RX-7#third generation|RX-7]] team), Norman Garrett, and {{nihongo|Koichi Hayashi|林 浩一}} worked on the final design, the project was moved to Japan for engineering and production details.

By 1989, with a definitive model name now chosen, the MX-5 was ready to be introduced to the world as a true lightweight sports car, weighing just {{convert|940|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

Although Mazda's concept was for the MX-5 to be an inexpensive sports car, at introduction the design met strong demand, with many dealers placing customers on pre-order lists and several dealers across North America increasing the vehicle markup.{{citation needed|date=June 2013}}