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Jinba Ittai - click here to find out more

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Jinba Ittai - "rider and horse as one"

US Spec Winning BlueIn Japanese, the exceptional soul of the Mazda MX-5 is described by the expression Jinba-Ittai. The direct translation of this is "rider and horse as one". "Yabusame", a longstanding artistic ritual ceremony in Japan, truly embodies the essence of Jinba Ittai. An Archer mounted on horseback gallops past a target and shoots an arrow. To achieve a bull's eye, the archer and horse must move as one. There must be a natural two-way communication and a high degree of synergy in their alliance. This oneness of motion between rider and horse was selected as the most apt analogy depicting the relationship between the driver and a mazda MX-5. Jinba-Ittai is the essence of the soul of Mazda.

DialsThe rider-and-horse idiom and the effort to create a car universally seen as "lots of fun" served as the focal point around which the original and the all-new Mazda MX-5 were designed and engineered. While most sports cars manufacturers aim for specific performance targets - such as the time required to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph, huge bhp levels or cornering G's provided by the chassis - Mazda engineers established goals to reinvigorate the car. In essence, they became a celebration of the simple delights of driving an open roadster. The "fun" was designed for anyone and any location during sports driving or the daily commute.