People agree that the new Mazda MX-5 RF is a sexy looking machine. But now, designers and critics can both agree as this sleek retractable hardtop has just been conveyed with The 2017 Red Dot Award: Best of the Best Award in Production Design. This isn’t the first time the fourth-generation ND model has been bestowed with the honor as the soft top version scooped it up in 2015. This makes the MX-5 an award winner in product design in both hard- and soft top flavors.

“We challenged the direction of the MX-5 in the MX-5 RF,” says Mr. Masao Maeda, Senior Managing Executive Officer in charge of Mazda’s design and brand style. “The MX-5 RF is created by a team that worked closely from designers, to engineers, to people handling production technology. I would like to enjoy this award with everyone involved with the car.”

The Red Dot Award is a design award sponsored by Germany’s Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen (North Rhine Westphalia Design Center) with a history of about 60 years. It judges products in a wide range of categories (not just limited to automobiles) from all over the world based on 9 criteria including design innovation, functionality, and ergonomics. The Red Dot Award is awarded for the highest quality design with the highest rank “Best of the Best Award” given to the best one overall.

Mazda is no stranger to The Red Dot Award. It has won the Best of the Best Award twice, with the MX-5 (2015) and MX-5 RF (2017). It also won the Best in Product Design three times with the Mazda6 (2013), the Mazda3 (2014), and CX-3 (2015). In addition, it received the Owarabe Mentions Award for the Mazda2 (2015).