Mazda's SEMA concepts show more Miata potential

[Suarez™]

Ahead of this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Mazda teased both of the Miata-based concepts that will be featured in its booth. Not straying too far from last year's winning formula, Mazda will bring a modified version of the roofless Speedster concept we saw in 2015. The year, however, the Mazda MX-5 Speedster will be called the MX-5 Speedster Evolution. The Japanese automaker will also bring a concept version of its RF retractable hardtop MX-5 variant, dubbed Kuro.

The Speedster Evolution concept lives up to its name and is, essentially, taking last year's weight-shaving ideas even further. The folks at Mazda somehow managed to shed 350 pounds from the already lightweight MX-5 -- that's about 100 lost pounds more than last year's show car. That brings this Miata’s curb weight just under the 1-ton mark. The Evolution will be painted white "ether" -- a new take on last year’s ether paint job, which was blue. Still, there's no windshield, so you'll want to grab a pair of goggles before taking it out for a drive.