New Mazda MX-5 rendered

This isn't the brand-new Mazda MX-5, because the brand-new Mazda MX-5 only exists, for now, in chassis form somewhere in Japan.

No, this is an entirely unofficial but entirely excellent rendered effort from a man with a computer and an internet.

That man is Theophilus Chin, a 35 year-old resident of Singapore who enjoys making imaginary cars. And as you can see by the picture above, he's quite good at it.

Though Chin hasn't specified any car in particular as reference, he's clearly writing in Mazda's ‘Kodo' design language, with shades of the spectacular (and spectacularly dead) Furai up front (and the Mazda3, and indeed, CX-5), while the side is all BMW Z4.

But what do we know about the actual Mazda MX-5? Well, we know we'll see it by the end of 2015, and that it won't weigh very much.

Mazda showcased a new superleggera chassis at the New York Motor Show last month, weighing 100kg less than the current model. That means the base soft-top roadster is expected to tip the scales at around 1050kg, an impressive weight even for an MX-5.

Mazda says the new car will be a more compactly configured rear-wheel-drive roadster, with the engine slotted in closer to the centre of the car. The MX-5's centre of gravity should be lower, too.

No word on powerplants, but expect variations of the 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre four-pot engines. We can only hope for a revolutionary new rotary engine too, but maybe that'd be asking too much...

We can also tell you that the new MX-5 won't be rebodied as an Alfa Romeo. Way back in 2012, Mazda and Fiat announced a co-operation for Alfa Romeo to use the MX-5 underpinnings for a new Italy roadster. That's not happening, as the MX-5 looks likely to instead be rebodied as a Fiat.

We can't wait for both, to be honest. And if the Mazda looks anything like this, it'll be a case of shut up and take our money...

Picture courtesy of Theophilus Chin