Celebrating 30 Years of Mazda’s Legendary MX-5 Miata
For 30 years, the true value of MX-5 Miata’s history lies in the accumulation of the thoughts, hopes and dreams of the people involved in its creation and evolution over the last three decades.
To express their gratitude and appreciation of all the people involved in MX-5’s history, Mazda has produced commemorative models for each major milestone. These special editions not only feature exclusive mechanical parts and tuning, they also offer distinctive body colors aimed at strengthening their bond with MX-5 fans.
The 10th anniversary was marked with Innocent Blue Mica.
At the 20th anniversary, Mazda introduced Aurora Blue Mica, True Red and Crystal White Pearl Mica.
Mazda marked 25 years of production, and the last of the third-generation MX-5, with Soul Red Premium Metallic.
For the 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary, Mazda developed Racing Orange, a strikingly vivid body color.
“The starting point for this entirely new color was the yellow of the MX-5 Miata Club Racer, exhibited as a show car at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, along with three production models in red, white and blue,” said Masashi Nakayama, MX-5 Program Manager and Chief Designer. “In general, yellow is a good match for a sports car thanks to its high brightness and chroma, both strongly exuding a feeling of passion.”
Instead of using the same yellow featured on the MX-5 Miata Club Racer from the ’89 show, Mazda designers sought inspiration from groundbreaking concept.
“We wanted to go beyond simply reusing the color of the 1989 model,” Nakayama explained. “To celebrate the future of MX-5, Mazda created a special new orange, evocative of sunrise and anticipation.”
The 2019 MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary also offers many other exclusive features, including: forged aluminum wheels by RAYS Co., Ltd. in dark gunmetal paint, with a design based on the wheels fitted to Global MX-5 Cup race cars; orange calipers (Brembo at the front, NISSIN at the rear); Bilstein dampers (manual transmission models only); and RECARO seats with orange contrast stitching and piping.
“These exclusive specifications bring the dream of the 1989 Club Racer show car to exciting new life and further enhance the unique driving pleasure of the MX-5,” Nakayama said. “Nothing could give myself or Mazda greater pleasure than to see this special edition MX-5 Miata deliver the ‘Lots of Fun’ we have fostered over three decades together with owners and fans, as well as anticipation of the excitement that future MX-5s will bring.”
