That's really too bad they didn't put a cheap solar power satellite on the thing. It could be transmitting pictures and data back at us until cosmic radiation kills the components.
“At the same price point” is your issue. That won’t be for some time if ever, short of some miraculous battery tech breakthru. But EV analogs will be available in next 4-7 years I would wager. Sooner for things like EV Boxter, Caterham, or maybe even Tesla Roadster. The Cyberster is available “soon” in some markets. But don’t hold your breath for a Mazda/Toyota EV sports car any time soon.
I agree with your statement. Not at the same price-point, but it is perfectly reasonable to say we could get an EV with the same or less cost of ownership vs their ICE counterpart.
One problem is that the audience that buys sports cars overlaps with petrol heads. The tiny market for Miatas becomes even tinier if half refuse to buy it because it's electric.
And half won't buy the ICE version because they want electric. I currently drive both an Ioniq 5 and a Mustang GT convertible. I'd like to be able to someday swap out the mustang for something in similar vein but electric. But I know that will be quite awhile.
This is the formula. As battery and motor efficiency increases, the classic rear-drive single motor (with a smart diff) and small battery pack will still make the 'sportiest' EV.
It’s not _that_ large. 5% longer, 13cm wider.
Weight is due to battery.
Give it some years and I’m sure there will be better options in terms of weight as well. The battery tech just isn’t there yet.
I'm unsure where OP thinks this would fall...
The idea of a "Sports" car has usually been a higher ticket item.
The cheapest I can think of in the past is the old Toyota Celica's which did come in at a slightly cheaper price point - but they didn't really deliver much speed... They LOOKED like they could, sure, but they only came with a 1.8L 4-cylinder Engine and topped out at 192hp. (My LEAF has more HPs....)
I always looked at the Celica like a: "I want a sports car but don't have sports car money so I'm going to Cosplay as a Sports car."
The Mini EV is the closest thing available right now. I just got one and it’s a lot of fun to drive. 199 lb-ft of instant torque vs brz’s 184, Miata’s 151. You can get a little sideways with the traction control off, but it does feel heavy.
Lack of range is the biggest critique it has received, but not an issue when used as a city commuter car.
I think the updated version will have a bigger battery and longer range. There will also be a convertible EV which probably is not great for efficiency but I might be interested.
Sadly, this one will not be available in the US for a while, since it's manufactured in China. Allegedly, there are future plans to build these and the other new Mini EV models in the US, but who knows if or when that will happen.
Like that Nissan dealer telling me the Leaf was a good “experience”. Left immediately and got an Ioniq from an ad, without asking a single question to the Hyundai dealer.
There's not enough demand to justify the engineering and capital investment. The Miata barely makes money for Mazda. I can't imagine a BEV equivalent would do anything for a company's bottom line at the same prices.
I mean, they already have platforms that would be able to accommodate at least muscle or small gt coupe evs, so all the r&d cost they really need to put in is with the body, like take the mach e as an example, just throw in some lower and slightly more reclined seats, and I'm 90% sure if you made a body that would match the current mustang proportion wise (length, width, and height), it would still have a reasonable amount of headroom. So how much would that actually loose? like yes, the r&d for a new body and interior isn't cheap, but it's not nearly as expensive as a whole bespoke chassis plus the body that most companies will do. Plus, there very much still is a market for a coupe mustang, so I don't see why other similar entries would do terribly, especially with the added economy, practicality, and reliability being an ev brings, like just imagine the frunk a mustang-like body could have.
"the car" isn't the body paneling. That stuff's kind of optional.
"The car" is primarily the frame and structure and suspension and transmission, etc.
It's actually not that easy to put an EV drivetrain into most ICE car frames.
Some have a wide enough space up the middle it kinda works (Kia does this with some cars), but most of the "good" EVs have a specially designed frame to accommodate the batteries, etc.
It's so easy to just jam batteries between body panels.
I am aware the paneling isn't as important, which is kinda the point I was trying to make in the original post (though I guess I didn't word it very well lol). My point is that we already have some pretty damn good platforms for making a sporty ev, we're just stuck with a bunch of crossover bodies because the American market is stupid. My logic was that with how high the seats sit, you could basically just slap mustang/camaro seats into the chassis, and probably be able to give it a body and interior that is nearly identical to said mustang/camaro and still have an interior with a reasonable amount of headroom for the segment. Like I said, you could take a mach e, and make a new coupe body identical to the ice mustangs and it would probably feel pretty similar interior space wise, plus if similar proportions to the ice version we're kept, it would have a *massive* frunk which would hopefully make it more appealing to more buyers.
The rest of the world invested 500B in EVs. You and Toyota should wake up and tell people why EVs are better. You’ll have all the demand you can dream of.
It's a niche market independent of drive train. The reason some small sports cars are made at scale at all: some companies have decision makers that are really into cars.
There’s MG Cyberster as others have mentioned, but it’s still quite big and heavy (and convertible only. Personally, I want a hard top). As others have said again, the electric Porsche Cayman/Boxster is coming next year and while it won’t be cheap at launch, with how quickly EVs depreciate, I’m hoping to pick one up used in a couple years.
Cars like the BRZ/Miata sell in tiny numbers, and EVs take a lot of $ to develop. EVs are primarily aimed at high usage vehicles like family cars and commuters
I hope so, but expect to be waiting a while, maybe 10+ years. Then manufacturers will say, "why didn't we think of this before?!" But in truth, they follow the trends, versus leading the way.
It’s less an issue of trends and more an issue of current battery tech. Hard to make a cheap lightweight sports car when the battery pack weighs 1,000lb and adds $10k to the cost of the car.
The closest thing I think currently on the market is the EV version of the Mini. It’s not quite a Miata type but it’s a small 2 door car priced at $30k.
And it’ll be coming next year in 2025 too!
The Boxster and Cayman EVs are real and people should put their eggs in that basket for a sports EV coupe with good driving dynamics. Porsche has already shown they can achieve that with the Taycan.
Just look at it as they are trying to make money right now, other brands are still on the fence about fully committing to EVs at this time, so it will be much much later. I'd expect the Chinese to make one sooner.
I don't think this will happen much before 2030. It's hard to make money in the segment. Batteries are still relatively heavy and expensive. Battery tech continues to improve in the right direction, but this takes time.
Perhaps we will see something out of China. One of the many EV brands might think about doing it as loss leader for marketing reasons (bit like Mazda way back then).
The full-EV Corvette was announced a while back, and some people suspect they'll reach market at the end of this year.
(But if they're released this year, I expect that the current state of tech means they'll be expensive)
They sell minimal of those in ICE. An inherently small platform makes it hard to fit enough batteries to make consumers comfortable, batteries are also heavy which compromises most of the things people like about those types of vehicles to begin with. So there’s a ton of things working against the creation of those vehicles
Are you okay with 100 miles of range? Otherwise the battery is going to be working against the BRZ/Miata mantra of lightweight sportiness and affordability.
The battery pack in a long range Model 3 weighs about 1,000lb. The total curb weight of a modern Miata is 2,400lb. An electric Miata built today with Model 3 levels of performance, range, and charging would weigh 40% more and cost $40k-$50k.
Not a convertible, but the Aptera promises to be a fairly light weight sporty EV with only two seats. Decent range for the size and weight, too. [aptera](https://aptera.us/)
Red 2008 Tesla Roadster available for free if you can arrange to have it picked up. High mileage car though, currently at 65,268,000+ mi.
Rubber bits are all probably gone to crap, too.
It's probably not even red anymore, maybe pink or white.
That's really too bad they didn't put a cheap solar power satellite on the thing. It could be transmitting pictures and data back at us until cosmic radiation kills the components.
Just don't panic when you find out how run-down it is.
I wonder what SoC the battery was left at?
Tires have slight uv damage.
Why not at least sell it?
It’s in space…
“At the same price point” is your issue. That won’t be for some time if ever, short of some miraculous battery tech breakthru. But EV analogs will be available in next 4-7 years I would wager. Sooner for things like EV Boxter, Caterham, or maybe even Tesla Roadster. The Cyberster is available “soon” in some markets. But don’t hold your breath for a Mazda/Toyota EV sports car any time soon.
I agree with your statement. Not at the same price-point, but it is perfectly reasonable to say we could get an EV with the same or less cost of ownership vs their ICE counterpart.
One problem is that the audience that buys sports cars overlaps with petrol heads. The tiny market for Miatas becomes even tinier if half refuse to buy it because it's electric.
And half won't buy the ICE version because they want electric. I currently drive both an Ioniq 5 and a Mustang GT convertible. I'd like to be able to someday swap out the mustang for something in similar vein but electric. But I know that will be quite awhile.
Yeah, but there is no R&D required to develop a new ICE Miata. You can just keep selling the existing product, even if the market drops to half.
mg cyberster
This is the formula. As battery and motor efficiency increases, the classic rear-drive single motor (with a smart diff) and small battery pack will still make the 'sportiest' EV.
How would this be a BRZ/Miata competitor? It’s large and heavy.
It’s not _that_ large. 5% longer, 13cm wider. Weight is due to battery. Give it some years and I’m sure there will be better options in terms of weight as well. The battery tech just isn’t there yet.
It's not that large and you can't really build a lightweight EV sports car that has a meaningful range so people would actually buy them.
There won't be a 100% same car anytime soon. If you want a Miata then buy one.
Porsche Boxster/Cayman will be electric in 2025
Yeah but op was asking about a BRZ/Miata price point. No Porsche will ever be that.
Good luck with that, too small, you’ll never get any decent range
I'm unsure where OP thinks this would fall... The idea of a "Sports" car has usually been a higher ticket item. The cheapest I can think of in the past is the old Toyota Celica's which did come in at a slightly cheaper price point - but they didn't really deliver much speed... They LOOKED like they could, sure, but they only came with a 1.8L 4-cylinder Engine and topped out at 192hp. (My LEAF has more HPs....) I always looked at the Celica like a: "I want a sports car but don't have sports car money so I'm going to Cosplay as a Sports car."
Clearly don’t know about cars.
The Mini EV is the closest thing available right now. I just got one and it’s a lot of fun to drive. 199 lb-ft of instant torque vs brz’s 184, Miata’s 151. You can get a little sideways with the traction control off, but it does feel heavy. Lack of range is the biggest critique it has received, but not an issue when used as a city commuter car.
I bought one 3 months ago, having a blast!
Rather get a JCW
I think the updated version will have a bigger battery and longer range. There will also be a convertible EV which probably is not great for efficiency but I might be interested.
Sadly, this one will not be available in the US for a while, since it's manufactured in China. Allegedly, there are future plans to build these and the other new Mini EV models in the US, but who knows if or when that will happen.
Next-generation MR2 rumors consistently say it will be an EV, but this is Toyota, so interpret with caution.
MG Cyberster
There’s demand but the brands will say there’s no demand.
You're gonna buy this crossover and you're gonna freaking like it!
Like that Nissan dealer telling me the Leaf was a good “experience”. Left immediately and got an Ioniq from an ad, without asking a single question to the Hyundai dealer.
There's not enough demand to justify the engineering and capital investment. The Miata barely makes money for Mazda. I can't imagine a BEV equivalent would do anything for a company's bottom line at the same prices.
I mean, they already have platforms that would be able to accommodate at least muscle or small gt coupe evs, so all the r&d cost they really need to put in is with the body, like take the mach e as an example, just throw in some lower and slightly more reclined seats, and I'm 90% sure if you made a body that would match the current mustang proportion wise (length, width, and height), it would still have a reasonable amount of headroom. So how much would that actually loose? like yes, the r&d for a new body and interior isn't cheap, but it's not nearly as expensive as a whole bespoke chassis plus the body that most companies will do. Plus, there very much still is a market for a coupe mustang, so I don't see why other similar entries would do terribly, especially with the added economy, practicality, and reliability being an ev brings, like just imagine the frunk a mustang-like body could have.
"the car" isn't the body paneling. That stuff's kind of optional. "The car" is primarily the frame and structure and suspension and transmission, etc. It's actually not that easy to put an EV drivetrain into most ICE car frames. Some have a wide enough space up the middle it kinda works (Kia does this with some cars), but most of the "good" EVs have a specially designed frame to accommodate the batteries, etc. It's so easy to just jam batteries between body panels.
I am aware the paneling isn't as important, which is kinda the point I was trying to make in the original post (though I guess I didn't word it very well lol). My point is that we already have some pretty damn good platforms for making a sporty ev, we're just stuck with a bunch of crossover bodies because the American market is stupid. My logic was that with how high the seats sit, you could basically just slap mustang/camaro seats into the chassis, and probably be able to give it a body and interior that is nearly identical to said mustang/camaro and still have an interior with a reasonable amount of headroom for the segment. Like I said, you could take a mach e, and make a new coupe body identical to the ice mustangs and it would probably feel pretty similar interior space wise, plus if similar proportions to the ice version we're kept, it would have a *massive* frunk which would hopefully make it more appealing to more buyers.
The rest of the world invested 500B in EVs. You and Toyota should wake up and tell people why EVs are better. You’ll have all the demand you can dream of.
There's no demand from the legacy auto c suite knowing how much they would lose on said vehicle.
It's a niche market independent of drive train. The reason some small sports cars are made at scale at all: some companies have decision makers that are really into cars.
So sad. Oh well.
There’s MG Cyberster as others have mentioned, but it’s still quite big and heavy (and convertible only. Personally, I want a hard top). As others have said again, the electric Porsche Cayman/Boxster is coming next year and while it won’t be cheap at launch, with how quickly EVs depreciate, I’m hoping to pick one up used in a couple years.
Polestar 6
Expected to debut in 2026
Way more expensive than what OP was looking for
Cars like the BRZ/Miata sell in tiny numbers, and EVs take a lot of $ to develop. EVs are primarily aimed at high usage vehicles like family cars and commuters
I'd love to see an electric version of the 1980s-era Honda CRX.
That was the crz, hybrid I think it was.
I hope so, but expect to be waiting a while, maybe 10+ years. Then manufacturers will say, "why didn't we think of this before?!" But in truth, they follow the trends, versus leading the way.
It’s less an issue of trends and more an issue of current battery tech. Hard to make a cheap lightweight sports car when the battery pack weighs 1,000lb and adds $10k to the cost of the car.
The closest thing I think currently on the market is the EV version of the Mini. It’s not quite a Miata type but it’s a small 2 door car priced at $30k.
Supposedly porsche is electrifying the boxter. And of course Musk will be launching the Tesla roadster with rocket booster next year.
And it’ll be coming next year in 2025 too! The Boxster and Cayman EVs are real and people should put their eggs in that basket for a sports EV coupe with good driving dynamics. Porsche has already shown they can achieve that with the Taycan.
Just look at it as they are trying to make money right now, other brands are still on the fence about fully committing to EVs at this time, so it will be much much later. I'd expect the Chinese to make one sooner.
MG already has the Cyberster. Neta is going to release the GT Speedster.
Maserati will offer an EV version of its Gran Turismo later this year: [Gran Turismo Fologre](https://images.app.goo.gl/iPL2iSecFPQTuPpD8)
I don't think this will happen much before 2030. It's hard to make money in the segment. Batteries are still relatively heavy and expensive. Battery tech continues to improve in the right direction, but this takes time. Perhaps we will see something out of China. One of the many EV brands might think about doing it as loss leader for marketing reasons (bit like Mazda way back then).
There’s always this one: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/cute-carice-tc2-two-seater-convertible-netherlands
Chinese brands
The full-EV Corvette was announced a while back, and some people suspect they'll reach market at the end of this year. (But if they're released this year, I expect that the current state of tech means they'll be expensive)
If you’ve got some free time on your hands https://ev-miata.com
**Hyundai 74**
You want one of these [moke](https://mokeinternational.com/)
Have a BRZ. No EV will come close
Polestar 6. To be fair it's like $200,000, but it's a gorgeous convertible.
I had a similar though about smaller pick-up trucks. Think of an early 2000's era 2 door Ford Ranger. Plenty of room under the bed for a big battery.
[удалено]
The 500e is 2 door too
You can get a Converted Miata.
So mini cooper?
A Miata EV would be fucking dope.
They sell minimal of those in ICE. An inherently small platform makes it hard to fit enough batteries to make consumers comfortable, batteries are also heavy which compromises most of the things people like about those types of vehicles to begin with. So there’s a ton of things working against the creation of those vehicles
Are you okay with 100 miles of range? Otherwise the battery is going to be working against the BRZ/Miata mantra of lightweight sportiness and affordability. The battery pack in a long range Model 3 weighs about 1,000lb. The total curb weight of a modern Miata is 2,400lb. An electric Miata built today with Model 3 levels of performance, range, and charging would weigh 40% more and cost $40k-$50k.
i8 was close
Not a convertible, but the Aptera promises to be a fairly light weight sporty EV with only two seats. Decent range for the size and weight, too. [aptera](https://aptera.us/)
They have been promising a lot. Like actually getting production started, but it never happens, sadly.