(music - Sunset Strut - Dan Lebowitz)
YouTube Audio Library Everyone knows the MX-5. It’s that fun little
roadster that you always promised yourself, and so much has been written about it already.
But it’s hard to over emphasise the impact this car had when it launched. At a time when cars
were focusing on more and more horsepower, supercharging to ever more extreme levels,
Mazda proved that you don’t need an exotic engine to have a lot of fun. Cars already had
enough power for public roads where you spent most of your time anyway. It wasn’t about
miles per gallon, but smiles per gallon! So, where did the vision for the MX-5 come from, and has it stayed true to that founding vision? This is the Mazda MX-5 Story. (music) In the 1970s small open top roadsters were
dropping like flies. The US had impending legislation that would effectively ban them.
The 1960s and 70s had been a loud, Saturday night party, but the US Government was turning
on the lights and telling everyone to go home. In this atmosphere any car company would be
mad to invest in a small open top roadster, even if they were produced outside the US,
as their main market was North America. After all roadsters seemed to be designed
for those warm, eternal summer days in states like Florida, Arizona and of course California.
But the impending legislation didn’t stop some from dreaming of a next-generation roadster.
Bob Hall worked for Motor Trend magazine, and in 1979 suggested to Kenichi Yamamoto, Mazda’s
head of Research and Development that they should create their own simple roadster, something like
the British used to build in the 1950s and 60s. A car that wasn’t focused on power,
but on how much fun it was to drive. By 1981 Bob was working for Mazda’s US
operation and again bumped into Yamamoto, who was now chairman of Mazda Motors.
They reminisced about the conversation and thought a small roadster might be a
good idea. The impending US legislation concerning roadsters had gone nowhere, other
than to scare car makers away from making one. Mazda could tap into a deep
public desire for a fun open-top, something that reminded them of the classic cars
of old, but by using modern mechanicals it would be reliable. Like how drivers remembered cars
of their youth, through rose-tinted glasses. Yamamoto thought it was an excellent
idea, and suggested Bob pursue it further, when he wasn’t doing his day job of course!
He worked with Mark Jordan and by 1983 the idea became a formal design proposal. Teams in
California and Tokyo would produce their ideas for this new car in friendly competition.
Although Yamamoto was interested, others in Mazda’s management were more sceptical.
Only 2,000 cars of this type sold in the US every year. But the Californian team pitched
it as a lead-in to the larger and pricier RX-7. The Japanese designers came up with two proposals.
The first was front engined and front wheel drive, reusing parts from their other small front wheel
drive cars like the 323. Their second proposal was mid-engined with rear wheel drive, as
were many contemporary sports cars. The California team took a different tack though.
Like Bob’s beloved 1960s roadsters, their car would be front engined but rear wheel drive.
The Californian styling was also a little different. Where the Japan team was designing
a car that, like the MR2 was “of the moment”, the American car’s shape harked back to those
1960s roadsters, and eschewed modern styling. It wasn’t just pretty, but practical too. Car’s
styling was generally refreshed every 4 to 5 years. The American team wrote a document titled
“Why not a 10-year car?”. They figured a timeless shape wouldn’t need updating as often, which meant
the car would be cheaper to produce over its life, which not only meant more profit for
Mazda, but more reason to approve it. But Mazda’s management felt that rather
than looking timeless, the Californian design simply looked old. Mazda were going to
choose two of these designs to make clay models, and then pick one shape as the final design. It
wasn’t looking likely that the Californian design would even make it to the clay stage, but the team
caught a break. Bob Hall talked about it in 2014: And they had this program where
they had these three proposals, and they wanted to take it to two. So, they
showed ours, and everyone was like “yawn!” with ours. And the chief guy, named Masakatsu Kato
And Kato felt sorry for us. He didn’t tell us we’d lost, and he said we could
do a clay model, but the intention was our clay model wouldn’t be counted.
Those two Japanese proposals were hardtops, but the Californian proposal was an open top:
And we did the presentation, and it was shown to the management, and they were “ok”, and then we
took the roof off, and the guy who was in charge of the mid-engined car, a guy named Youichi
Sato, who was completely insane! Sato jumps up and says in English “Uh! Build that one!”.
The team had gone from also rans, to winning the competition. The next task was creating a running
prototype. With the car evoking British roadsters, it was perhaps natural Mazda chose International
Automotive Design in Worthing in the UK to do the work. They were told to make something like a
classic British roadster such as the Lotus Elan, but the chassis and powertrain they started with
was almost the exact opposite – a 1977 Mazda 323! The front suspension and wheels were taken
from the Mazda RX-7 and rear suspension from the Mazda 929. IAD didn’t just work on the
chassis and exterior, they also mocked up an interior design. This was far from the final car
though – Mazda was simply trying to get something to sit in and drive around to understand
if a car like this would be successful. Mazda’s management came to the UK to compare it
against the Fiat X1/9, Toyota MR2 and Reliant Scimitar and liked what they found. Testing moved
to California where it was compared to the Mazda RX-7, a Triumph Spitfire and a Straman Honda CRX
Cabriolet. The story goes that someone saw the prototype being driven around, chased it down and
asked to buy the car on the spot for any price! With a reception like this, it was natural the
car got formally approved in January 1986. The US team was still in charge of design, but most
development now moved to Japan. The Japanese team used the phrase “Jinba ittai” or “horse and rider
as one”. The car needed to fit you like a glove, but also be an extension of you. They also
decided that, like those 1960s sports cars, this new car needed to be simple. The roof
would be a basic ragtop unless you wanted to install the fixed roof. But soft-tops of old were
fiddly affairs, sometimes involving tent assembly skills! The MX-5’s soft-top would be so simple it
could be taken up and down from the driver’s seat in seconds. But simple didn’t mean unsafe. The
car had to comply with modern crash legislation and would come with a driver’s side airbag.
The team knew they’d be using a small engine, a lighter and more powerful version of the 1.6L that
would be used in the Mazda 121 and 323, so weight was key. The team found weight savings in the
chassis design. Less metal meant less weight to change direction, but also reduced Mazda’s monthly
steel bill. The look of the car evoked the 1960s Lotus Elan, and so did the chassis, with a simple
backbone holding the suspension at both ends. The efficiency of design extended to the
cost of replacement parts and repair. When coupled with a relatively small engine
this not only kept the purchase price down, but also the cost to insure it.
While the Japanese engineers were about as far removed from Italy, England or
southern California as you could get, they lived and breathed cars, and understood the classic
handing the car needed. Not only that, with modern suspension design they improved on it, creating
a “go kart” feel that put a smile on your face. And while they wanted it to be a fun track car,
it was going to be driven by people who’d never seen a racetrack, so they made sure it
was a car with easy, predictable handling. Now Mazda had a final design, they
needed 5 prototypes for further testing. They again turned to IAD in the UK. The team was
also called on to do small changes, including tuning the exhaust to copy the sound of an MGB,
after Mazda had listened to over 100 exhaust recordings to find just the sound they wanted.
The new car – named the MX-5 – would be simple but being sold in the US it still needed creature
comforts. Those baby boomers who remembered the 1960s roadsters of their youth were now driving
cars with all the latest modern conveniences. All those extras brought weight.
Mazda had to skirt a fine line between keeping the car light and making it saleable. To
this end the base model would be paired back, but customers could specify a stereo with CD player,
power-assisted steering, ABS, air conditioning, cruise control, electric windows, and
Lord protect us, an automatic gearbox! Small details like the door handle told you
this was a car unlike any other, something different from the usual mass-produced car.
Like many 80s sports cars, and the Lotus Elan, the MX-5 would include pop-up headlights. This
wasn’t what the Californian team wanted though. They wanted fixed ellipsoidal lights somewhat
similar to the first-generation Dodge Neon. They were lighter, there was less to go wrong and the
team thought they looked better than pop-ups. But the Japanese team fought for pop-up headlights.
They preferred the look, plus they could reuse the RX-7’s mechanism, meaning their limited
development budget could be spent in other areas. The MX-5 was unveiled to driving enthusiasts
in a research clinic in April 1987. You would think their enthusiastic reception
would give Mazda confidence in MX-5 sales, but as it got closer to production, Mazda worried
about a car that was only an open top, so asked the California team to design a coupé version.
It was duly produced, but there was a problem: When you take a coupe and make a convertible, you
end up with a pretty heavy convertible because you’ve got to cut off the roof and cannibalise
it. When you take a convertible and make a coupe, because you have a tougher body you
end up with a pretty heavy coupe. That heavier car would need a larger engine,
adding to the cost. But as the car got closer to production, Mazda’s confidence
grew, and the hardtop was dropped, although it would be shown as a concept in 1996.
The car would be known as the MX-5, but Mazda’s US office didn’t think the name was quite right.
After much searching, they hit upon the word “Miata”, from the old German word for “reward”.
It seemed an appropriate name for a car that was less about a car you bought with your head,
and rather something you bought with your heart. (music - "Marvin's Dance" by Silent Partner)
YouTube audio library The Mazda MX-5 or Miata launched at
the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989 to a rapturous reception. It would also appear in
Japan as the Eunos Roadster, Eunos being Mazda’s upscale brand. But Mazda expected sales in North
America, and they didn’t disappoint, with long waiting lists that only got longer when motor
critics drove one and started singing its praises. Mazda had aimed for this to be a mini Jaguar, and
the quality and attention to detail certainly made it a touch above those old 1960s open tops. It
couldn’t compete with Porsche’s for outright pace, but it was just as much fun, and
customers instantly “got it”. US sales began in May, and soon Miata mania
swept the country, with cars selling for thousands over the sticker price. Sales in Japan
& Australia started a few months later. Mazda hadn’t expected a great deal of demand in Japan –
maybe 250 to 500 cars a month, but the demand was overwhelming, with 3,000 monthly orders. Supply
problems got so bad Mazda ran out of aluminium wheels on the higher end models and had to
steer customers towards the lower spec cars! Although it came as a manual or an automatic,
at launch only the manual was available, so there were probably quite a few burning
clutches from customers who just had to have this car but had never used a clutch before!
European sales began the following year. Mazda had tried British Racing Green as a colour, but
never felt it worked with the black interior. So, in 1991 they released 250 special edition
British Racing Green MX-5’s with a tan interior. It’s always the same isn't it? You wait forever for a
roadster to come along, then two turn up at once! This one also used a Mazda
chassis, but was very different. Ford had a partnership with Mazda at the time,
and Ford of Australia conceived a small open top they felt would sell well in the US market,
just as Bob Hall had surmised in the late 1970s. Their roadster used a modern Mazda 323 chassis
and powertrain. Ford’s Italian styling house Ghia created the exterior design, with ItalDesign
doing the interior. Production began in 1989, the year the MX-5 appeared, but it would take
until 1991 until it appeared on North American roads as the Mercury Capri and by then people
had fallen in love with the Miata. What’s more, the attention to detail wasn’t as good, and by
1994 Ford beat a hasty retreat back to Australia. The MX-5’s success made those car companies
who’d made sports cars in the 1960s think about bringing them back. So, in 1995
Fiat introduced the Barchetta, and Rover, ancestor of Triumph and MG, launched the
MGF. Both would go on to some success, but globally it was the MX-5 that reigned supreme.
Mazda would release a few MX-5 prototypes and special editions, but true to Bob Hall’s vision,
the car stayed pretty much the same for the next 8 to 9 years. It got a few updates, such
as dual airbags, better side protection, and a larger 1.8L engine. An amazing
430,000 first generation cars were produced, but more changes came with the second generation
that launched at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show. The MX-5 was always envisioned as a car to get
more people to drive the RX-7, and the new body took design elements from Mazda’s larger car.
The most noticeable change were fixed headlamps, a result of pedestrian safety laws. Despite
this, the new MX-5 only scored 1 out of 4 for pedestrian safety in the Euro NCAP tests.
Mazda listened to customers by including a defroster in the rear window that was now made of
glass instead of plastic. The cockpit remained the same size, meaning the first-generation hardtop
could still be used on the second-generation car. The new changes made it 60kg (132lb) heavier, like
putting a full keg of beer in the passenger seat! Mazda took pains to try to mount heavier
parts like the battery and the spare tyre lower to help the driveability, and the
MX-5 stayed true to its goal of being a barrel of fun to drive, and with a few
engine tweaks it remained just as quick. It became the Mazda Roadster in Japan,
and the MX-5 Miata in North America to bring the name more in line with the rest
of the world. But whatever it was called, Mazda’s little roadster continued to sell well.
But there were signs MX-5 mania was over. Mazda produced 7,500 10th anniversary
special edition cars in 1999, but it took that whole 10th year to sell them.
A facelift in 2000 brought a stiffer chassis, a small bump in power and other changes
such as the option of a 6-speed manual. Just enough to keep the car in the public eye, and
the MX-5 kept on selling. In 2003 Autocar magazine crowned it the best handling car, beating out
the Porsche 911. Not bad for a front engined car! A fun car like this was begging
to be thrown around a track, and many owners were doing just that. Mazda
showed off the Mono Posto concept in 2000, harking back to single seaters like the
Jaguar D-Type or the Lotus Eleven, and the 200hp (149 kW) MPS concept in 2001. They were
interesting, but it was spec racing that took off, just like it had in the 60s with Triumphs battling
MGs for Sunday supremacy, and to help drum up more sales of course! The Sports Car Club of America
held MX-5 races from 1999, and other amateur and professional series sprung up. In the UK the
MaX5 Racing Championship started racing in 2004. Mazda produced the MX-5 SP performance model
with a 6 second 0-60 time, and this paved the way for Mazda’s motorsports division Mazdaspeed
to offer their own turbocharged version in 2004. Mazda wanted to make more changes for the
third-generation car and previewed them as the Ibuki concept in 2003. Built on the
larger RX-8 chassis, the car showcased Mazda’s work at weight saving, with liberal use
of aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbon fibre. The front pillars acted as a rollbar and the rear
section lifted up in the event of a rollover. When the third generation MX-5 appeared in 2005
it was clear it was a big update. Some of the Ibuki styling carried forward, especially the
front grille and lights, but around the back it was more like the second generation car. Inside
it was all new, with steering mounted controls to keep your eyes on the road. The automatic
gearbox got the dreaded paddle shifters that were little help until double clutch automatics made
them interesting. While the same backbone chassis from previous generations remained, the suspension
was completely different, being borrowed from the RX-8. The 50/50 weight distribution remained
as well; something Mazda had been keen to talk about since the MX-5 launched 16 years earlier.
It got another bump in weight, despite losing the spare tyre. The keg of beer in the passenger
seat from the second generation was accompanied by a baby elephant! That was 170kg or 374lb. It got
a little longer and wider, meaning it no longer complied with Japanese domestic size restrictions.
Thankfully the engines offered a boost in power, meaning the car still offered the same amount of
fun. It was living up to the “Zoom Zoom” tagline Mazda was now using in its commercials.
Maybe to make up for the lack of pop-up headlights, Mazda introduced a cool and infinitely
more useful electronic toy – a power retractable hardtop. It brought all the advantages of the
fixed hardtop, making this a good all-weather car for the first time, and the compact
mechanism didn’t even take up any boot space. But it made the car 36kg (79 lb) heavier, and
that weight sat up high. But after Mazda added a larger front anti-roll bar and tweaked the
rear springs, most drivers would be hard pressed to notice any difference from the regular car.
The new MX-5 soon had competition from General Motors in the form of the Saturn Sky,
Pontiac Solstice, Opel GT in Europe, and the Daewoo G2X in Asia. It looked good, but it
fell down on the details. The interior felt cheap, a constant GM gripe, the electric window
buttons were in an awkward position, you had to get out to fold down the roof, and when
you did, the roof swallowed up the tiny boot. And it was heavier. Forget about adding a keg and a
baby elephant, GMs cars were a full 215kg (474 lb) heavier than the third generation MX-5. That’s
the weight of an upright piano! That extra weight meant the MX-5 was better through the bends.
You might drive GMs car to look good, but if you cared about the fun of driving and didn’t
mind the stiff suspension, you chose the MX-5. Sales were acceptable, but all four GM models fell
victim of the Great Recession and GMs bankruptcy. A facelift in 2008 gave the MX-5 a big laughing
mouth of a grille, along with front light and indicator changes, plus small changes down the
side, all to give the car the new Mazda family look. Maybe because of all the weight gains,
Mazda launched the Superlight concept in 2009. The car was stripped down to the bare bones,
with an early form of Apple CarPlay – just an iPhone stuck in a slot!, and it used
lighter materials throughout the car. They even removed the windscreen! But there was
only so much Mazda could remove, and it still weighed a full 59kg (130 lb) or a fully grown
Aardvark heavier than the first-generation MX-5. Many other special editions appeared,
including 20th anniversary versions, but Mazda took the unusual step of doing a second
facelift of the third-generation car in 2012, maybe to boost the flagging sales of this once
popular roadster. The changes were small though. The front of the car got another small change,
and to improve its pedestrian safety score which had never been great, Mazda implemented “Active
Bonnet” technology, where in the event of a crash the bonnet would open so if the person hit the
bonnet there would be a gap between it and the engine. Brakes were also improved, reducing the
chance you’d hit a pedestrian in the first place! Inside there wasn’t much of a change, although
by this time the car was offered with Bluetooth and navigation to keep with the times. The
MX-5 got the usual raft of special editions, including a 25th anniversary edition.
But sales were dropping. Those baby boomers who’d remembered European roadsters of the 1960s
were driving something a little more comfortable, and those who had nostalgia for the original
MX-5 could still by an original MX-5. They were plentiful enough, reliable and unlike
European roadsters hadn’t rusted away to nothing. The MX-5 had put on weight over the years, and
it had undoubtedly made it a much safer car without affecting the “fun factor”, which
was after all the whole point of the car. But for the 2015 fourth generation car Mazda made
weight savings one of their main goals with the mantra they’d used throughout - “less is more”.
A lighter car allowed Mazda to include a smaller 1.5L engine, the smallest they’d ever used, giving
excellent fuel efficiency as well as performance. The original MX-5 used a 1.6L engine giving 113hp
(84 kW) and 36 miles per British gallon (7.8l / 100km). The new 1.5L Skyactiv engine produced
129hp (96 kW) while returning 47 miles per gallon (6l / 100km), and although the car was a
little heavier than the original MX-5, about the weight of 4 cans of paint, it was still faster
to 60, and just as nimble through the bends. It also retained that all-important 50/50 weight
balance and the same backbone chassis from the original car, but the first thing customers
would notice was the dramatic new shape. Gone was the nostalgic look back to the 60s, replaced by
something more reminiscent of a 2002 BMW Z4. Cars always seem to get bigger, so it was maybe not
a surprise the new MX-5 was wider with a longer wheelbase. Maybe more surprising, it was shorter
than any of the previous three generations. Inside Mazda made good use of its parts bin
to include the latest technology. Mazda knew customers wanted fun, but also their creature
comforts. This was no track day special like the Ariel Atom, but that didn’t stop you
having a barrel of laughs on the racetrack. Texts were automatically read
through the new infotainment system. The car featured a lane departure warning system,
blind spot detection and backup warning sensors. With climate control and heated seats all in a
light car with a powerful, fuel-efficient engine it seems you could have your cake and eat it!
One thing that disappeared was the ingenious automatic hard top. Mazda’s new MX-5 only had
a manually opening soft top, but in 2016 Mazda launched the MX-5 RF or Retractable Fastback. The
rear buttresses gave the car more of a coupé feel and featured an automatic removable targa
section. Not quite the same open-air feel, but if you were in the market for a 2-seater coupe
with excellent handling it was a good option. In 2016 Mazda reached a significant milestone
– the MX-5 had sold its millionth car. It had already been crowned the best-selling
two-seater sports car in history in 2000. Another small update appeared in 2018, giving
a little more power, plus a few small changes inside. There was another update in 2021 featuring
“Kinematic Posture Control”. That’s a lot of fancy words, but to you and me it meant better steering
response and less body roll in high-g corners. The chassis codes for the four generations of
MX-5 were, rather logically, NA, NB, NC and ND. Mazda entered an agreement with Fiat Chrysler
to use the MX-5 chassis for their own roadster, the Fiat 124 Spider and Abarth 124 Spider
which was launched in 2016. The codes for those chassis were NE and NF, meaning
any future MX-5 will have to start at NG. If there will be one. Declining sales may mean
the latest version of the MX-5 will be the last. As those original MX-5’s start to become classic
cars, more people who lusted after them in their youth want restored versions of their own to
drive. Mazda launched a restoration programme in 2017 in Japan for those original Eunos Roadsters.
As Mazda needed to reproduce some original parts, in 2019 they started offering those
parts to North American customers. Most of the work for the original MX-5 was done in
Japan. That’s where their main engineering staff were. But Mazda were smart enough go against their
own better judgement and listen to the Americans who’d original proposed the car, and were closest
to the customers who would ultimately buy it. That paid dividends in creating a car that Mazda’s
management might not have understood, but millions of people around the world immediately “got”. And I think that as long as the car keeps those key aspects of driver involvement and being
enjoyable, it can go on forever. I mean that class of those lightweight sports cars started around
1914, and they’re still with us. Now they aren’t like they used to be, they’ve got brakes on
all four wheels, the brakes are hydraulic, they’ve got real engines in them, but the
philosophy behind the cars is the same. The MX-5 started as a nostalgic, throwback
dream. It’s a car that’s been around so long, it’s become a piece of nostalgia itself, and
there are plenty of cheap cars around to enjoy some low-cost thrills. But every generation
of MX-5 has remained true to the vision of a good value two-seater that puts a smile on
your face every time you hit the accelerator. As usual, there’s an Optional Extra video where I
talk a little bit more about the MX-5. If you’re interested there’s a link on the right. Thanks
for watching and I’ll see you in the next video!
