Miata Weight – The Magic of Lightness (Weight By Year)

The Mazda Miata is a sports car that has been around for over 25 years. It is known for its excellent handling and performance to match. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about the Miata, including the Miata weight, specs, and engine.

We will also talk about how the Miata handles and what makes it such a popular choice among enthusiasts. If you are considering purchasing a Miata, or are just curious about this iconic sports car, then read on!

Mazda Miata Specs

The Mazda Miata is legendary in its own right, and the Miata specs are just as impressive. For starters, the first generation is one which still causes the most hype even in today’s world. The first generation known as the NA Miata ranges from 1990 through to 1997.

It has been cemented in history as being known for its small and compact nature, making it easy to manoeuvre on any road or track, creating its reputation of having an agile driving experience.

Although the NA Miata wasn’t the most powerful car with it 1.6L inline 4 engine producing only 116hp (85kw) from 1990 – 1993 and the revised 1.8 L inline 4 engine producing only 12 more horsepower at 128 hp for the years 1994 and 1995 and then being improved once again from 1996 – 1997 to pump out 133 hp (99kw) the NA Miata definitely wasn’t a powerhouse.

Miata Weight Broken Down By Year

Where the car truly shines and came into a light of its own was when people started to factor the NA Miata weight into the equation. The NA Miata weight came in at the scales of a minuscule 2,180 lbs (990 kg).

But this isn’t the entire picture, below is a full breakdown of years and weights for the NA, NB, NC and the most recent ND year models:

NA Miata Weight (1990 Miata weight – 1997)

NB Miata Weight (1999 Miata weight – 2004)

NC Miata Weight (2006 Miata weight – 2009)

ND Miata Weight (2015 – Present)

The ND Miata is the fourth generation of the legendary Miata has come into the production world from late 2015 and is still currently in production. The ND Miata weight is reported at 2,332 lbs. This figure has been tested and seems to be fairly accurate according to various ND Miata owners across the US.

Miata Weight vs Performance

Regardless of the year, as you can see above, the Miata weight plays a pivotal role in the performance of the Mazda Miata. With the small engine that may seem insignificant on paper, as soon as you couple it with the Miata weight being so light, you can see why the Miata is so loved throughout the world.

It’s no secret that the lesser the weight of a car, the more exciting it is to drive. Not only does this allow manufacturers to improve the handling aspects of a car, but it also allows them to extract more performance per pound of weight, increasing a sports cars power to weight ratio.

It’s no secret in the industry that supercar manufacturers have always heavily focused on weight, especially the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, Pagani and even Lotus where the entire brand is based around lightness.

One of the more recent and exciting forays into the speed of lightness is the Alfa Romeo 4C and what they’ve been able to achieve with a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and a relatively small 1.75L engine.

The Miata Weight Was The Key To Its Success

All in all, the Miata weight has played a massive role in making the Mazda Miata an iconic car, all the way from its first generation till now, people are still talking about how fantastic an early NA Miata is and trying to get every last bit of the NA Miata weight down to extract maximum performance in handling and power to weight ratios.

This remains true for the NB Miata weight, NC Miata weight and the latest generation for the ND Miata weight.

Weight is the most crucial aspect of any performance car. It’s something Mazda got right in the Miata formula which paved the way for future lightweight affordable sports cars for the masses to enjoy.

The Miata weight is one of the defining aspects of the car and something that has been obsessively tinkered with by Miata owners and tuners to eek out every last bit of performance. As discussed, this is due to the Miata weight having a massive impact on how the car handles and performs. A lighter Miata means a nimbler Miata.

To give you an idea of just how important the Miata weight is, a Miata turbocharged kit weighs in at a whopping 50 lbs. This means that even with a Miata turbocharger kit installed, the Miata will still weigh less than a Honda Civic.

A Miata weight reduction not only improves performance but also an often overlooked aspect of performance cars, fuel economy. The Miata engine is highly tuned and efficient, so a lighter Miata means that the engine doesn’t have to work as hard to move the car down the road. This in turn translates into better gas mileage.

So there you have it, everything you need to know about the Miata weight and why the Miata is such an exciting little pocket rocket.

Alfio Capicollo