Mazda Launches 'Roadster Power Retractable Hard Top', World's First Lightweight Open-top Sports Car with Power Retractable Roof that Doesn't Sacrifice Trunk Space.

Tokyo, Japan, Aug 23, 2006 - (JCN Newswire) - Mazda Motor Corporation has announced it has added the Power Retractable Hard Top (known as Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe in Europe and Mazda MX-5 (Miata) Power Retractable Hard Top in North America) model to its Roadster lineup that was fully remodeled last year. It features a groundbreaking electric roof system that doesn't reduce trunk space at all, and it goes on sale nationwide at all Mazda and Mazda Anfini dealers from today.

The Roadster Power Retractable Hard Top that carries Mazda's unique power retractable roof system steps in as the top-of-the-range model of the third-generation Roadster that was launched in August 2005. The Roadster has won more than 30 awards around the world including the 2005-2006 Japan Car of the Year accolade, earning itself an international reputation.

The Mazda Roadster Power Retractable Hard Top provides both a high level of comfort for an open-top sports car and the traditional Roadster"Jinba Ittai" ("Rider and horse as one") driving pleasure at the same time. The light-weight hard top has a simple one-touch open/close electric control, and boasts an unprecedented* mechanism which folds the roof away into the same space behind the seats and inside the wheelbase that the soft-top model requires. Being a Roadster, it is of course imbued with the "Jinba Ittai" dynamic performance, and while still being instantly recognizable, it has a new upmarket design that improves the "proud-to-be-seen-in" quality of the "fun" Roadster.

Takao Kijima, Program Manager for the Roadster said, "'Jinba Ittai' or 'heart-to-heart communication between a rider and a horse' represents the quintessence of the Roadster that Mazda has pursued since it developed the first model in 1989. With the Power Retractable Hard Top model, the driver and the vehicle can interact with each other as if having a conversation. This stylish and 'Lots of Fun' vehicle allows us to really feel the joy of 'Jinba Ittai'. As a product of Mazda's unique approach, I hope the Roadster Retractable Hard Top will allow more and more people to experience the 'fun' in all aspects of their daily life."

Full specifiacations of the roadster are available on the Mazda website at http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/200608/0822.html.

About Mazda Motor Corporation

Mazda Motor Corporation (TSE: 7261) started manufacturing tools in 1929 and soon branched out into production of trucks for commercial use. In the early 1960s, Mazda launched its first passenger car models and began developing rotary engines. Still headquartered in Hiroshima in western Japan, Mazda today ranks as one of Japan's leading automakers, and exports cars to the United States and Europe for over 30 years. Overseas sales account for more than half of total turnover. Mazda has two main production sites in Japan and 19 overseas facilities. Overseas sites include joint ventures based in the United States, and in Thailand with Ford Motor Company, Mazda's largest shareholder.

Source: Mazda Motor Corporation

Contact:

Mazda Motor Corporation
Ms. Mayumi Handa
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