With the end of production of the rotary-powered RX-8 and until Mazda decides otherwise, the MX-5 / Miata takes on the lonely role of being the Japanese company’s only true sports car.

Already on the market since 2005 having received a mild makeover in 2008, Mazda now wants to give the MX-5 NC another extension to life with a second facelift, which has been revealed through a leaked Japanese brochure that made its way online.

The photo scans from the JDM brochure show that the MX-5 with the codename NC3 gains a newly designed front bumper sporting a five-point grille with a more curved upper part and re-shaped fog-lamp surrounds, plus black bezels for the headlamps.

A smaller, secondary picture tells us that the NC3 adopts an “active-hood” that pops ups to reduce injuries in car-pedestrian accidents.

It also appears that Mazda has designed new alloy wheels and added a fresh assortment of exterior colors.

As for the interior, from what we gather, the rear-wheel drive roadster model gets a newly designed dashboard cowl and a blacked-out instrument panel gauges.

It’s possible that Mazda has made more changes to the NC3 that may or may not include the chassis and powertrains, but we won’t know for sure until the company comes out with an official release.

Photo Credits: Mazda, MX5co & Minkara

Hat tip to Bruno R.!

PHOTO GALLERY

2013 MAZDA MX-5 NC3Mazda-MX-5-NC3-2Mazda-MX-5-NC3-3Mazda-MX-5-NC3-4Mazda-MX-5-NC3-7Mazda-MX-5-NC3-8Mazda-MX-5-NC3-9Mazda-MX-5-NC3-10Mazda-MX-5-NC3-11Mazda-MX-5-NC3-12Mazda-MX-5-NC3-1Mazda-MX-5-NC3-6Mazda-MX-5-NC3-13Mazda-MX-5-NC3-14