Before the Mazda Miata,
the way to get a true sports roadster was from a European automaker. If
you were looking for an open-air canyon carver, you’d have to look at Fiat, Lotus, Triumph, MG, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo, to name a few. The one consistent trait among legendary sports cars like the Jaguar E-type, the MG MGB and the Lotus Elan is the inherent unreliability, or charm, as
owners call it. That is, until the Mazda MX-5 hit showroom floors in
1989 and added a dash of Japanese reliability into the sports car stew.
Donut
Media’s James Pumphrey guides us through the Miata’s origin story with
the latest episode of “Up to Speed.” He notes that Autoweek’s West Coast
editor at the time, Bob Hall, worked with Mazda to
develop the sporty two-seater. Mazda also pitted its North American and
Japanese development teams against each other in a contest designed to
push the teams to build the best concepts.
The rest of the Miata’s history? Check it out in the video above.
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