Mazda MX-5 RF prices and specs revealed

The Mazda MX-5 RF folding hard-top will go on sale on 4 March 2017, with prices starting at £22,195 for the 1.5-litre, SE-L Nav spec car.

The range will be topped by the Launch Edition, which will cost £28,995, and includes a raft of extra equipment including a two-tone roof, BBS alloys and black exterior trim. Production for this edition will be limited to 500 units.

Once the 500 Launch Edition Mazda MX-5s have been sold, the £27,095 2.0-litre Sport Nav Auto will top the range. A like-for-like MX-5 RF is £2000 more expensive than the standard soft-top, although the range-topping RF is offered with an automatic gearbox, which is unavailable on the standard car. The automatic ‘box is only available on the Sport Nav, rather than lower-spec RFs, though.

Also exclusive to the RF is an electric mechanism for opening and closing the roof – the standard soft-top opens and closes manually.

The previous-generation folding hard-top MX-5 accounted for around 80% of UK sales, with drivers opting for the refinement and extra insulation it offered over the standard car’s cloth roof. The same sales split is expected this time round.

First examples of the standard MX-5 RF will reach dealers in May, in 1.5-litre SE-L Nav and Sport Nav trim levels. The rest of the RF line-up will appear after this.

The RF went into production on 5 October, and was first revealed at the New York motor show earlier this year.