For the past couple of years, we've been sharing everything we've uncovered about the next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata. We've told you that in 2013, Mazda plans to return to the car's original 1989 roots by making it lighter, more fuel-efficient, and cleaner. We've also shown you a couple of artist's impressions of the new model.Now, we have definitive information about the MX-5's new styling direction from a rock-solid source. A senior editor at Japan's Holiday Auto magazine tells us that if you know where to look, you can find just about anything on the Internet these days. Even official manufacturer drawings of future models! That's exactly what we have here.

Based on a technical drawing supplied by Mazda to the Tokyo Patent Office recently, our artist has composed a sketch you see here of what to expect in the aesthetics department from the new roadster. And it's surprisingly simple.

The new MX-5's grille will take on a more basic oval shape along the lines of the first-generation car, a departure from the current model's large "smiley face" grille. The headlights have been given a distinct up-slanting teardrop shape. From what we see in this exclusive sketch, the proportions are almost identical to the 1989 car.