People have been customising Mazda’s cult hit, the MX5, for 27 years now. Just a simple Google search will bring up hard-top, low-rider and even off-road versions of the iconic car. It was about time Mazda got in on the action by trying something new to spice-up its best-selling sports car. If you leaf through the great book of iconic ’70s Japanese sports cars, you’ll come across the likes of Datsun’s 240Z, the original Toyota Celica or even Mazda’s own rotary-powered RX-7. They all have a long bonnet and teardrop cabin styling that, in my opinion, has been injected into the new Mazda MX5 RF.

Despite its wealth of motoring awards and accolades, it has taken generations for the MX5 to shake its unfounded ‘hairdresser’ reputation. However, this new, butch-looking RF, with its retro, retractable targa-top, has hit the nail on the head in terms of looks. The new roof, which Mazda tells me now opens and closes while the vehicle is in motion at speed of 10km/h or less, leaves the rear buttressed section in place for that ’70s look.

It’s not just a style upgrade for the MX5; the team at Mazda revamped another department too — its motor. The GT version of the RF is available with the 2.0-litre engine the MX5 has been craving for over 20 years. You can get a standard RF with the 130bhp 1.5-litre engine, but as far as I’m concerned, that’s akin buying a vegan kebab. Having owned and lived with a 1991 1.6-litre MX5, I know first-hand how much you yearn for the little bit of extra power required to perfect the recipe.