It has been almost thirty years since the idea of building a lightweight, rear-wheel drive roadster began germinating at Mazda's U.S. headquarters. Reagan was in his first term, the Berlin Wall remained fully intact, and the 'Al' most frequently referenced was 'Yankovic', and not Al Qaeda. The automobile industry was, for the most part, still learning to acclimate both itself and its consumers to ever-tightening emissions and safety standards. Together, 'performance' and 'motoring' was an oxymoron, with 0-60 in roughly eight seconds regarded as fast. Finally, the government-mandated 5-mph bumper systems were still not fully integrated with that day's automotive sheetmetal.
So, while a smallish, lightweight roadster wasn't the automotive equivalent of getting man to Mars, it was a pivotal moment for both America's enthusiast community and Mazda's dealer network. Of course, from concept to showroom didn't happen overnight. A former automotive journalist, Bob Hall, got the idea rolling as a product planner for Nissan, and a newly hired Mark Jordan was primarily responsible for the design of the end result: a front-engined, rear-wheel drive roadster that looked more than a little like the Lotus Elan of the ?60s. The rest is history, with the new sports car, introduced to the American public at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989, warmly received by those in the market for something new, and Mazda dealers in the market for something profitable.
Some two decades after that launch, Mazda introduced a 'special edition' MX-5 Miata to commemorate the production of some 900,000 units. For any model that number is significant; for a two-passenger droptop it's enormous. We wanted to take a look at today's commemorative edition while looking back at the original. And, while the 2011 Chicago Auto Show supplied a static comparison, a more recent visit to Mazda's U.S. headquarters provided a look inside one of the early 1990 examples, along with time behind the wheel.
Two's Company
Jump into virtually any automotive brand separated by twenty-something years and you'll probably come up with at least twenty-something differences. To be sure, there are distinct variations between the interior treatment of a 1990 Miata and its 2011 counterpart, but the similarities in concept outweigh those dissimilarities in execution. Despite the 1990 model being smaller and lighter, the interior seems surprisingly spacious, while the 2011 moves closer to claustrophobic. The new SE remains comfortable within the context of a two-seat roadster, and the seats are more supportive. Both cars feature instrumentation intended to be informative in nature, but don't overwhelm you in the info supplied. Of course, in 1990, the power-operated retractable hardtop wasn't on Mazda's radar, but the standard cloth top, with manual actuation, was beautiful in its simplicity, and a vast improvement over its Brit-based brethren; that, and manually operated windows, kept the weather beast at bay.
The More Things Change?
If you contrast Porsche's 911 from 1990 with today's watercooled wundercar, you'll immediately recognize the growth in the contemporary Porsche's footprint. In contrast, the MX-5 Miata offered today is larger, and roughly 20% heavier, than that which debuted in 1990, but not significantly so. The Miata, unlike Porsche and Chevrolet's Corvette, has remained relatively true to its lightweight, simplistic roots, and that is clearly evident in the exterior sheetmetal. The original execution, while far larger than its Lotus-sourced inspiration, was no more expansive than necessary to accommodate two people, a small amount of luggage, and a small amount of fuel. Today's car benefits from a wider track, exposed headlamps, flared wheelwells and the aforementioned [optional] folding hardtop, but remains immediately recognizable as Mazda's sports car, and continues to accommodate but two people and their luggage. We enjoy the clean simplicity of the original sheetmetal, and appreciate Mazda's obvious commitment to the original layout and execution while accommodating more stringent safety regulations. One outgrowth of the desire for a more rigid unibody is the more prominent A-pillar in the current car. It's a great add for structural strength, but reduces visibility in left hand turns.
Horsepower to Wait Ratio
If, as the cliché suggests, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we'd argue that performance is, too. The first Miata, with a 1.6 liter engine producing 115 horsepower and propelling 2,100 pounds, was an absolute delight within the context of its time period and market competition. Twenty years later, its successor ? and third gen ? boasts a 2.0 liter engine with 167 horsepower propelling 2,500 pounds. In the first you have roughly eighteen pounds per horsepower, while in 2011 you have just fifteen pounds per horsepower.
The current MX-5 feels more responsive because, well, it is. And that increased speed is enhanced by both better grip and braking. With that, the performance of the 1990 remains genuinely entertaining, and a lap of Mazda's R&D headquarters in Orange County, Calif. served to verify. It was, to be sure, a fairly short lap, but the 1.6-liter with but a handful of miles delivered smiles; the steering proved oh-so-direct and cornering remained confident. Behind the wheel in an early Miata is the automotive equivalent of an espresso shot. You may not choose to devote all afternoon to its consumption, but you'll not be disappointed by the time you do spend.
The 2011 Miata is more substantial, and especially within the guise of the PRHT (Power Retractable Hardtop) is more secure in its presentation, but remains intimately connected with the road and its environment. You can, of course, shut out more of the elements via the folding hardtop, but if down - as the Mazda gods intended - you'll enjoy the full benefits of fresh air and freshened attitude. Today's power-assisted steering aids parking, but does nothing to reduce your attachment to the road, and if there's a better connection between stick shift and the gearbox's internal mechanisms, we don't know who builds it. This third generation might not prove to be the be-all/end-all variant of the concept, but neither does it distort the original vision.
Shop ?til You Drop
In 1990, those shopping for a two-seat convertible would find little in new car showrooms to directly compete with Mazda's new Miata. Alfa continued to offer its Spider, Porsche offered a convertible variant of the 944, and Mazda supplied its own RX-7, but the then-new Miata was essentially a category of one. The Brits were out of here, and for well over a decade they had been 'out of game.' While the Big Three still provided open-air thrills via Camaro, Mustang and, funny enough, Dodge's Dakota pickup, the platforms were as shaky as the business model. The Miata was more than a game changer; it was essentially an all-new game, and yours for but $14,000.
In 2011 the market supplies more 2-seat droptops, but with the demise of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, the affordable two-place category is once again hanging by a thread. VW is rumored to be reentering the fray, and the used Boxster or S2000 can be purchased well south of the Miata's mid-$20s starting point. But, for fresh, out-of-the-box fun with a new car warranty, the Miata remains the only game in town. Thankfully, the product team in Hiroshima and Irvine haven't screwed it up. And despite the vast number of substantive improvements over twenty-plus years, the Miata remains eminently affordable, offered at roughly the same price point (adjusted for inflation) as at the original launch.
We're very impressed by our exposure to both this year's SE and yesteryear's Miata. In no other comparison could we find an original platform of two decades ago so contemporary, or a contemporary platform so faithfully adhering to its original formula. At upwards of $25K the new MX-5 Miata represents a compelling purchase. And at roughly $5K for a clean, early-?90s example, anyone with an ability to steer and hear should keep an example close at hand. As this is written, we're perusing AutoTrader.com for just that car.
