The iconic offspring of an automotive giant, the Mazda Miata has won the admiration of several generations since its debut in 1989. The plucky and lightweight roadster has evolved through four generations over 35 years.
The original MX-5 NA gained the title of lightweight sports car and became an instant hit, coming with an affordable price boosted by nimble performance and a lightweight design. The second MX-5 NB Miata edition debuted at Tokyo Motor Shaw in 1997, featuring a more powerful engine and aerodynamic design. This Mazda Miata set the Guinness World Record for the best-selling convertible two-seater sports car.
The third generation, MX-5 NC, went through many iterations and facelifts, boasting a new unibody and running gear. The fourth-generation MX-5 ND was designed in 2016. This edition got fully modernized.
This seemingly eternal car was the product of Bob Hall, motoring journalist, and his dream of reviving the British sports car with Japanese reliability and tech. The late Tsutomu “Tom” Matano, known as the father of the Miata, took on the task to turn that dream into a reality.
Matano launched his career at General Motors in 1974 followed by stints around Europe with several automotive brands. He became Chief Designer at Mazda in 1983. This is where Matano became an icon in the car world designing the Miata and the third-generation RX.
Matano and his acclaimed works shaped the design language of Mazda throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Matano devoted himself to education, becoming the Executive Director of the School of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
The Miata today remains a comfortable roadster. Despite modern innovations to improve the Miata, it still has a respect for the long tradition. Even four generations later, the car maintains that consistency and stays true to Matano's philosophy, "Good design is when nothing more can be taken away."
As the best-selling roadster in history, the Miata not only revived the roadster segment but also changed the brand image of Mazda, forever associating it with driving enjoyment and balanced engineering.