Goodwood 2016: Mazda MX-5 RF Makes European Debut

The hardtop version of Mazda’s iconic roadster, the MX-5 RF, makes its European debut at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Coming three months after its global debut at New York in March, the MX-5 RF is joined on stage by the one-millionth MX-5 ever produced along with two concepts – the MX-5 Spyder and MX-5 Speedster.

Unlike the simple manually-operated mechanism of the regular MX-5 soft top, MX-5 RF’s retractable hard top is powered; opening and closing at the flip of a switch, and operable at speeds up to 10km/h.

Mechanically, the MX-5 RF is mostly identical to the regular model, but featuring steering and suspension tweaks that Mazda claims to improve the vehicle’s refinement. Unsurprisingly, the company also claims that the RF, which is short for Retractable Fastback, ‘handles every bit as well as’ the regular model which most of us are highly enthused about.

No word on whether it will reach Malaysia, but Mazda confirms that the MX-5 RF will be available in Europe by early 2017.