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Mazda MX-5 Superlight concept at 2009 Frankfurt motor show

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 11 September 2009 09:30 To celebrate 20 years of the MX-5, Mazda has produced this special Superlight concept which be unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show next week. Mazda started with the facelifted version of its third-gen sports car and pared it back to basics to create an uncompromising sub-1000kg two-seater sports car. According to project lead designer Hasip Girgin, the challenge was 'to evolve the MX-5, developed to perfection during the last 20 years, to a higher and extreme level.' As such, Mazda seems to be treating the MX-5 Superlight like a portly Caterham, claiming the lack of a windscreen and roof makes the driver and passenger feel more connected with the environment.

McLaren 12C Spider: Lots more new photos arrive

The McLaren 12C Spider was revealed in July, but with just a handful of photos available. But now McLaren has rectified their photo count. Even when the 12C Spider took its public bow at Pebble Beach in August there wasn’t anything new from McLaren’s snappers, and at the Paris Motor show all eyes were on the McLaren P1, so nothing more for the 12C Spider from there either.

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.