Mazda Patent Hints at New Sports Car with Butterfly Doors - But Is It the Next Miata?

Mazda might be cooking up something unexpected. A newly discovered patent filing from the automaker shows a front-engine, rear-drive sports car chassis, the kind of bones that could underpin the next MX-5 Miata. But there’s a twist: the drawings include butterfly doors. That’s a dramatic departure for a car known for its simplicity and purity.

CarBuzz spotted the filings, and they’ve sparked serious speculation about whether this is the next Miata or something else entirely.

The patents don’t mention the Miata by name, but the layout is unmistakable: a small convertible with a longitudinal four-cylinder engine. One patent focuses on the hinge pillar and suspension mount, revealing Mazda’s engineers are working to improve chassis rigidity. Their solution?

Butterfly doors. By angling the hinges nearly 45 degrees, the pillar moves closer to the shock tower, creating a stronger connection. The trade-off is that the doors swing upward, a look more at home on a Lamborghini than a Miata. Mazda calls it a “flip-up side door,” and it’s designed for function, not flash.

A second patent covers crash structures, showing how the frame would channel impact forces into the firewall and sills. It also includes two lightweight “bracing reins” and a stamped metal “apron frame” that ties the front corners to the firewall like a horseshoe. The goal is to add rigidity without piling on pounds.

Whether butterfly doors make sense on a convertible remains an open question. But Mazda already previewed a similar design with the 2023 Iconic SP concept, which featured a window surround that matches the patent drawings. That could mean the next Miata borrows the SP’s look, or that Mazda is building the SP as a separate model with a conventional gas engine.

Either way, sports car fans have something to watch.