THE MX-5 is powered by a longitudinally mounted 1839cc 16-valve twin-cam four-cylinder engine, outputting 106kW (up from 98kW) at 6500rpm and 165Nm at 4500rpm. The engine is placed within the wheelbase "front-midships", contributing to the car's weight distribution of 50/50. A new cylinder head, valves and inlet system sit on a virtually unchanged block. It's still just about the quickest in class, one independent test getting the car from rest to 100km/h in 8.4 seconds, and to the quarter mile in 16 seconds. Large-volume silencers are used to create a rortier exhaust noise. Expect fuel consumption to hover around 10L/100km.