The New Mazda MX-5 990S Edition Is Only 990 Kg

Mazda MX-5 Miata's low weight has long been lauded as a major selling point for the sports car. The newly introduced 990S trim will give Japanese clients even more weight savings.

The vehicle's weight has been cut to a NA Miata-rivaling 990 kg, according to Car Watch (2,182 lbs). In terms of simplicity, the model is on par with the original Miata, having been stripped of practically all extras.

Mazda slimmed down the car by removing sound deadening and lightening the hood, among other things. Despite being larger in the front, it also has lightweight wheels that save 3.2 kg (7 lbs) and Brembo brakes that save 700 g (1.5 lbs). When it comes to vehicles, Mazda engineers claim that 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs) of unsprung mass is equivalent to 10 kg (22 lbs) of the sprung mass.

Mazda has replaced the red brake calipers with black ones with blue "Brembo" letters to draw attention to its engineers' lightweighting attempts. The blue pattern continues on the soft top cloth and the A/C vents.

The 990S has a 1.5-liter engine with an open differential that produces 130 horsepower (132 PS/97 kW) and is based on the car's least powerful variant. The larger 2.0-liter motor will not be available with the lightweight kit because it requires stronger duty parts to deal with the greater power.