Mazda2 three-door news - Two out of 2 - 2008

Not content with shaving every gram of extra weight off the Mazda2 to make it one of the lightest cars around, the Mazda engineers have gone even further and lobbed the two rear doors off their featherweight supermini. 

Yes, this is the three-door Mazda2, due to debut at the Geneva motor show in early March. It retains the same swoopy shape as its five-door brother, but with a slightly sleeker profile thanks to that narrower blacked-out B-pillar. 

The overall dimensions remain the same as the five-door, as do the engine choices: 1.3- and 1.5-litre petrol units and a 1.4-litre turbodiesel. 

Although Mazda is yet to put the three-door model on the scales, it says that the loss of the two rear doors may help to tip the 2 under the 1,000kg mark: an impressive achievement for a car with enough safety kit on board to get a five-star Euro-NCAP rating.

Still no word on a hotter MPS version Mazda2, though, but we rather like the idea of a flyweight supermini with a warmed-up engine. We'll be trying to convince Mazda of the wisdom of our plans in Geneva soon.