The Mazda MX-5 Miata (or Roadster if you’re in JDM-land), that modern symbol of the lightweight sports car, has just reached an impressive milestone: one million units produced.
It was verified that the one-millionth Miata rolled off the line at Mazda’s Ujina Plant No. 1 in Hiroshima on April 22, 27 years since production of the NA Miata began there in April 1989. A RHD version finished in signature Soul Red and sporting 16-inch wheels, this particular car will go on a world tour in celebration of the milestone.
The tour begins next week at the Hiroshima Flower Festival before visiting various Roadster meetings throughout Japan. From there, it travels to the UK for the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June, where it will be joined by the MX-5 Speedster and Spyder SEMA concepts.
The one-millionth Miata will eventually make its way to the US in September, where it’ll attend events throughout the country before reaching its final destination in Monterey for Miatas at Mazda Raceway in October. It’ll likely be a heck of a party, and we’ll be there to bring you live coverage. If your Miata club is interested in joining one of the regional events during the tour, you can contact Mazda at clubinfo@mazdausa.com.
There may be a Dr Evil joke in here somewhere, but the Miata pretty much embodies the greatest good in the automotive world. The latest iteration, the ND, goes against the trend of add complexity/weight/size/power. instead staying true to the classic sports car concept with elegantly minimalist yet sophisticated engineering. Amazingly, it still retains all the magic of the NA, 25 years later.
Evidently, this earns you customers and accolades, as the Miata is the world’s best-selling two-seat open sports car and an award overachiever. The sales claim has been verified by the Guinness World Record five times so far, the last time being in 2011 with the 900,000th car (seems like it was only yesterday!), an NC, that was sold to a lucky customer in Germany. The ND was also crowned Japan Car of the Year in 2015 as well as the 2016 World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year — the first car to clinch both awards.
The original Miata is a veritable classic, one of our favorite JNCs, and the ND is more than a worthy successor. Congratulations, Miata! Here’s to an evergreen sports car legacy and the next million!
Photos courtesy of Mazda.
Evergreen sports car legacy? Or…*cough*…British Racing Green?
Let’s hope that Mazda sees fit to show this car at the September 2016 JCCS! Does anyone have the clout or balls to push this suggestion on to their corporate table [as opposed to their PR goons]?