The 30th-Anniversary Miata is now arriving, in all its orange splendor

By Bill Hayward

The first U.S. shipment of the very orange 30th-Anniversary Miata rolls off the boat
Photo: Inside Mazda Newsroom.

It’s hard to believe that the 30th-anniversary Miata is already here.

If you’re old enough to remember 1989, the year that Mazda introduced the Miata for the 1990 model year, you probably also remember that the era wasn’t exactly a heyday for roadsters.

Yes, there were convertibles around, like the Chrysler LeBaron. We won’t talk about that.

But roadsters, true two-seater convertible sports cars, were another matter—especially in a price range accessible to your average enthusiast. Triumph, maker of the beloved Spitfire roadster, departed the market in 1984. And although MG, now a Chinese-owned marque, has continued a fragmented form of existence, they departed the U.S. market after making the last MG Midget in 1980s.

By 1989 the U.S. market was also well into the era when more and more motorists were turning away from passenger cars—especially sporty, two-door models—and opting for SUVs, minivans, and trucks.

For those who wanted one, owning a true, late-model sports car had become an expensive proposition with few options, among them expensive European models like convertibles from Porsche and Mercedes.

So by many indications, the automotive milieu of 1989 didn’t exactly look like the most friendly market climate to introduce a new a roadster. Yet Mazda must have concluded that there was pent-up demand. In spite of some skepticism reflected in the automotive media at the time, Mazda did indeed launch their roadster, the MX-5 Miata, in 1989.

And over the next three decades, they went on to build one of the greatest sports-car success stories in automotive history. Mazda is now able to proudly claim, for example, that the MX-5 Miata is the most raced car in the world.

To mark the three-decade milestone in this successful history, Mazda in February unveiled a special 30th-Anniversary Edition of the MX-5 Miata, and began taking pre-orders at a starting price of US$34,995.

Now, the wait is over for those who pre-ordered. Deliveries of the orange 30th-Anniversary Miata’s have begun, as Mazda announced yesterday.

Among the first to take delivery of a 30th-Anniversary Miata is Gerald Blum, a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida.

“What I love most about Mazda is the experience of driving the car,” Blum said. “As a diehard Mazda enthusiast, I’m thrilled to be among the first to get the new MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary and cannot take my eyes off the brilliant Racing Orange paint scheme. Orange is the new red!”

Production of the 30th-Anniversary edition Mazda MX-5 Miata is limited to 3,000 vehicles worldwide, according to the automaker, with an even more limited allotment available in the United States.

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