Mazda MX-5 Kuro Edition (2012) first official pictures

Mazda has unveiled another sporty special edition MX-5, hot on the heels of yesterday's track-focused MX-5 GT Concept.

The new member of the family is the Kuro Edition, and is marked out by racy detailsing, bespoke graphics, and can be had with enticing finance options for a limited time.

Kuro means black in Japanese, so there's no prizes for guessing what theme the MX-5 Kuro's upgrades follow. 

Note the black-painted folding hardtop on the Roadster Coupe (RC), black door mirrors, and dark gunmetal 17-inch alloy wheels.

However, exterior paint finishes aren't 'any colour you like as long as it's black' - you can also have red and pearlescent white bodywork.

Available as the 1.8i soft-top or as a 2.0i RC, the MX-5 Kuro also gets a new diffuser-style rear sports bumper, swollen sports exhaust, and visiaul details like unique 'race car inspired' exterior graphics, black front grille and front fog lights surround, plus unique ‘Kuro Edition’ badging.

Powertrains are unchanged over the standard MX-5 - there's no tuned 205bhp motor under the bonnet. The 1.8 car kicks out 124bhp , allowing 0-60 in 9.9 seconds while the 2.0 RC boasts 158bhp, 7.9sec to 60mph and 136mph flat out. Both cars are manual change only - a five-speed 'box in the 1.8, and six-speeder in the 2.0.

Naturally the MX-5's ageing cabin has been lifted by a smattering of extra sportiness.

Heated. red-stitched leather seats will please fans of British top-down motoring; there's also alloy pedals, snazzy floor matts, and climate control as standard.

For a start, you'll have to move fairly fast, as only 600 examples are coming to the UK, split between 200 soft-tops and 400 Roadster Coupes.

To make the Kuro more tempting than an optioned-up MX-5 might otherwise appear, Mazda are offering 0% APR over three years with 50% deposit until 31 July. That should help create demand for a car which is creeping into hot hatch territory on price, if not performance: the Kuro sof-ttop is priced at £18,495, and the 2.0i Kuro Roadster Coupe costs £21,995.

Both models are available for order from 1 July 2012.

By Ollie Kew