look back at 35 years of happiness, hair in the wind!

The story of the MX-5 begins with the “journey of the press” during the presentation of the first Mazda RX7 in 1978. The Japanese manufacturer invited all the automotive press to come and discover its latest sports car. Among these journalists, American Robert Hall made the trip. Hall, who speaks Japanese, is used to covering these types of events and speaks regularly with Kenichi Yamamoto, Mazda’s chief engineer. At the end of the presentation, the two men have a conversation when Yamamoto asks Bob Hall what the next Mazda sports might be.

The roadster, a forgotten art

At that time Bob Hall was worried about the young English travellers. Austin Healey, Triumph and MG shook off its infancy and disappeared from the market one by one. The Italians are also moving into this low-end market, and it is unthinkable for any manufacturer to launch a small two-seater sports car. However, Bob replies to Kenichi Yamamoto that Mazda should enter this market, as they will soon be the only ones.

Drawing on the board

To put words into action, Bob Hall grabs a piece of chalk and begins to draw on the board the profile of a small two-seat convertible, which of course will have to be rear-wheel drive, light and easy to build. Bunzo Suzuki, head of press relations at Mazda, edited this sketch, not suspecting that it would become historic.

Do it in your free time!

Three years later, in 1981 Bob Hall joined Mazda USA. The American branch of the Japanese manufacturer has a design office that creates its models intended for the American market. He first worked on the B200 picture. One day, during a visit from Kenichi Yamamoto, the latter reminded him of his proposal for a small road. The Japanese asked Bob Hall to work on this project. But with one condition: the future MX-5 is not a priority for Mazda, and it is not planned in the program at the moment, it will have to work on it, outside of working hours.

A unique face

After project approval, Japanese and American design teams are put into competition. But it is the Californian project that will win the right to design the MX-5, thanks to the model with perfect proportions and real personality. When it made its public debut in February 1989, at the Chicago Auto Show, the MX-5, also called Miata in the US and Eunos in Japan, was unanimously praised. For its proportions, its characteristics and its appearance, it is the successor of the Lotus Elan or the Triumph Spitfire, with Japanese credibility to boot. Removable headlights have finally caught the attention of car enthusiasts. Order forms are being filled at high speed, forcing the manufacturer to postpone the European launch.

Fun to drive

In addition to its successful design, the MX-5 has other advantages. Its rounded design hides a particularly successful chassis. The MX-5 is a rear-wheel drive vehicle that offers exceptional driving pleasure. Light, reliable, easy to maintain and affordable from $ 14,000 at launch, the MX-5 has it all and will quickly invade the west coast of the United States. Success will be worldwide, dismaying all the analysts who thought the road market was finished, because it was out of style. The MX-5 takes the place of the classic roadster in the hearts of enthusiasts, while offering ease of use and uncanny Japanese reliability.

Unfading style

Today the MX-5 has been produced for 35 years. The MX-5 NB replaced the first generation, leaving behind its retractable headlights, then NC and ND, codenames for the third and fourth generations. Mazda MX-5 still gives the same impression. Happy driving, hair in the wind. It still represents, four decades after the discussion between Bob Hall and Yamamoto, what a sports car should be. A story that must continue. At the last Tokyo Motor Show, Mazda presented a sports car concept, showing the next MX-5.