25 Years of Mazda Roadster

The Mazda Roadster (MX-5 Miata in the world market) is now 25 years old. It grown up, it matured, but the secret formula for the Roadster's success never change; providing exhilarating thrills in a lightweight package, and that's good. While the Roadster was a Japanese sports car for the masses, it always goes under the influence of what true British sports cars do; aerodynamics over performance. As the late Colin Chapman from Lotus says that adding power makes you go faster on the straight line but subtracting weight makes you go faster everywhere. The Mazda Roadster is like that, being a lightweight car that makes you go faster everywhere.

Let's rewind the best 25 years of the Mazda Roadster with the best of what the past three generations have pulled together;

1) Eunos Roadster, we presented

The first Roadster (1989-1998)

The first Roadster (designated as NA) debuted in 1989 under the name, Eunos Roadster. which of course, Eunos is one of the brands from Mazda aside from Efini and Autozam back then. If you're new to the world of Japanese cars, let me get this straight; At the end of the 1980's, Mazda tries to diversify the Japanese car market by introducing three different marques. This is just like Toyota, Honda (with their Primo, Verno, and Clio marques), Mitsubishi, and Nissan from their heydays. The three marques are; Autozam (comprised of affordable entry-level cars), Efini (the exclusive luxury brand where the FD RX-7 is sold), and Eunos. Eunos is an upscale brand from Mazda and it's naming comes from the Greek word "eu" meaning "good" and "nos" referring to the abbreviation to the word "numbers".

For the list of Eunos cars aside from the Roaster, click here.

Anyway, The Eunos Roadster was exported worldwide as the Mazda MX-5 Miata. It was hugely popular among enthusiasts because of such lightweight chassis. The Eunos Roadster is powered with either a B6-ZE 1597cc 4-cylinder DOHC engine that produces 120ps/6500rpm of power or the BP-ZE 1839cc 4-cylinder DOHC engine that produces 130ps/6500rpm of power. There are so many special editions of the NA Roadster, including the S-Special, V-Special, or the J Limited. The first Roadster is all about choice.

2) ROADSTER, Reborn

The second Roadster (1998-2005)

In 1998, the arrival of the New Roadster came into reality. It even exported worldwide as the second-generation Mazda MX-5. The positive aspect about the NB Mazda Roadster is that it retains the styling from the Eunos Roadster, only this time, the retractable headlights from the NA Roadster has been replaced by the fixed headlights, providing the essence of style. This generation offers a 1.6L or a BP-ZE 1.8L 4-cylinder engine that produces either 145/160ps of power.

3) One car. One driver. One feeling.

The third Roadster (2005-2015)

In the year 2005, the Mazda Roadster (MX-5 Miata) received another full model change and gained the designation of NC. By November 2005, the NC Roadster won the 2005-2006 Japan Car of the Year.  When it first arrived in August 25, 2005, it became a sensation because the Mazda NC Roadster was just a miniature version of the Mazda RX-8 but the 3rd Roadster retains the 2-seater capacity from the previous two generations. The standard engine is the LF-VE 1998cc 4-cylinder DOHC engine that produces 170ps/6700-7000rpm of power and torque of 19.3kgf-m/5000rpm. Being an FR sportscar seems to be more enjoyable but for the Roadster, its about looking at its best. The concept of "One car. One drive. One feeling." really serves the point about the NC Roadster, even though in the year 2005, when the car was released, it gained a huge success and earned the title of being 2005-2006 Japan Car of the Year.

That's the end of it. These are the previous generations that helped shaped the Roadster image over the past two and a half decades and now, the moment of truth has arrived because Mazda finally showed the world the brand new 2016 Mazda Roadster (ND).

2016 Mazda Roadster

Set for its 2015 release, the new, fourth-generation, Mazda Roadster still retains the same Roadster legacy while gaining its new look and new features, although details remain scarce for now. With the KODO design language and SKYACTIV Technology in place, the ND Roadster will become the best Roadster the world has ever witnessed.

So thank you and happy 25th birthday, Mazda Roadster!