New £20k sports cars

There’s no better way to enjoy top-down sports car thrills than in a lightweight roadster. And fans of the genre with around £20,000 to spend are in for a treat, with a trio of all-new models set to arrive over the next few years.

Spearheading the group is the fourth generation of the Mazda MX-5 – the car that created the class back in 1989. But it faces stiff competition from Toyota’s MR2 and the Alpine Roadster – a car that will revive Renault’s historic performance sub-brand for the first time since the 1991 Alpine A610.

A concept version of the Alpine Roadster could be revealed as soon as July, possibly at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

As our images show, the new MX-5 will feature the same classic roadster proportions as the current car, but with sharper styling inspired by the Takeri Concept first seen at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2011.

The pointed grille, which now houses the Mazda emblem, is larger and higher than before. It also flows seamlessly into the slimmer headlamps. Underneath, a pair of slashes in the bumper could contain LED lights.

The Alpine’s bold design takes its lead from the Renault DeZir Concept, revealed at the Paris Motor Show in 2010, and will feature the most extreme interpretation yet of the new family face.

The full-width grille is lifted directly from the DeZir, but with more production-ready headlights above it. As well as losing the roof, the concept’s low and wide proportions will be toned down to a more traditional roadster shape, although the bulging front wheelarches remain.

The key to the MX-5’s success up to now has been its agile handling. There were rumours that the new car would swap to front-wheel drive, but a Mazda source confirmed that it will stick with a rear-wheel-drive set-up.

Engineers are working hard to strip more than 100kg from the current car’s kerbweight by using higher-strength steels in the chassis – the target weight is less than 900kg. The weight loss should improve the MX-5’s reactions, while a choice of cleaner but more powerful 1.3-litre turbo and 1.5-litre petrol engines will be offered.

Renault isn’t planning on being left behind, however, and performance experts at Renaultsport will engineer the Alpine. The engine is likely to be the same 1.6-litre turbo expected in the next Renaultsport Clio, which is due to be unveiled at September’s Paris Motor Show.

While the MX-5 is guaranteed for production, and expected to go on sale in 2014, the Alpine’s road ahead is less clear cut. A lot will depend on public reaction to the concept car – if it’s good, Renault claims it can have the Alpine in showrooms within 30 months. That places it on a similar schedule to the MX-5 and sets up a fascinating head-to-head.

Updated: This article was updated with the full story on 28 March 2012.