Coupe Scoop

JACQUES FLYNN—BORN IN FRANCE BUT RAISED IN AMERICA, SO HE pronounces it “Jack”—is the lead designer for Mazda Design Americas. We sat down with him to discuss Mazda’s new MX-5 RF.

- Aaron Gold

What was the reaction on a corporate level when you presented the design for the MX-5 RF because it was so radically different from the retractable hardtop?

JF: It was positive. Very positive. I think it may have caught a few people off guard, but a lot of people pushed for an MX-5 coupe, inside and outside the company. It was well received, especially when they saw what the vision was and how it could be interpreted. We knew we were going to do some sort of retractable hardtop, and we jumped on this idea of blending these two worlds. The 911 Targa came out a little bit before, and that made conversations with corporate that much easier. We said, “Look how stunning the car is, and we can do the same thing.”

Why such a big change from the previous car?

JF: The third-gen car was our first retractable hardtop. It was a great measure to see what we could achieve, especially from a cost standpoint. That was a huge learning curve with that car, to be able to offer something like that for very little money. But it didn’t feel like a coupe to me. It had all the positives of a retractable hardtop, but when you step back, you say, “That’s a convertible.” This car, from a hundred yards away, it’s a coupe. It’s got all the right elements.