Today, we think of the Mazda MX-5 Miata as the default sports car that we want to drive when it’s time to have some fun and get out on the road. This car is a simple model and one that would let you drive it every day or take it to the track for some club racing. Over its history, we’ve seen this car offer us nearly everything we want for the drive including a new hardtop roof and the features that make a lot of sense when we’re ready to drive.
When the first Mazda Miata arrived in 1989, this car had to go up against some stiff competition including the Alfa Romeo Spider, Toyota MR-2, Pontiac Fiera, and Nissan 240SX. While the last two in this list had recently gone out of production, there were plenty of recently traded-in pre-owned models to choose from to give you an RWD sports car that can be a lot of fun for the drive. This meant the Miata needed to offer us something that the rest didn’t bring to the market to make sure we could have the drive we wanted to experience.
The key to the success of the NA model of the Mazda Miata was the fact that it was designed to be a sports car right from the start. It was an original model added to the Mazda lineup to be fun and active on the road and allow you to head to the track for a spirited lap. this original model had its own chassis to offer the engaging performance you wanted to experience when it was time to head out on the road. The one item that was borrowed was the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, but it did receive an upgrade to offer four-valve heads and dual-overhead cams for a more responsive performance.
Attention to Detail Made a Difference in the Original Miata
With a mix of the fun of the roadsters from years past and the technology that was modern for the time, the Miata took a huge step forward in the evolution of the sports car. This car can go down in history as the car that saved the roadster style from extinction. This car brought us the imagination we wanted to feel and the qualities that make a lot of sense when we take it out on the road.
Now, nearly thirty years later, the Mazda Miata has grown to be the MX-5 model that continues to perform better and offer us more fun for the drive on the road. Originally, you could only have this car as a soft top convertible and today you can have the hardtop convertible build to enjoy the drive and know you’ve got a car that offers you the solid roof you want. Today the power has been increased, but the basic feeling and personality of the Mazda Miata form 1989 is still present in the models we see on the roads we drive every day.
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