MX-5 Miata

Make
Mazda
Segment
Compact

Last February, Mazda revealed its MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition. Limited to only 3,000 examples globally for both the traditional soft top and MX-5 RF variants, the roadsters quickly sold out. How fast? In just four hours. Demand was so high in the US that Mazda later decided to increase US market allocation (at the expense of overseas markets) by an additional 143 units for a new total of 643. And now the first of those US market roadsters have begun to arrive.

The Japanese automaker spoke with one of those buyers, Gerald Blum of St. Petersburg, Florida, who also happens to be a serious Mazda fan in general. Not only was he one of the first to take delivery of a 2019 MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition, but his very first Mazda was a 1978 RX-7. It was a first-generation model that was the 249th example produced.

Over the years, Blum has owned 13 Mazdas, including the new MX-5. He already has a Soul Red Crystal 2016 MX-5 Miata Club parked in his garage and it was a "no-brainer" for him to place an order for this latest one. "What I love most about Mazda is the experience of driving the car," he said. As a diehard Mazda enthusiast, I'm thrilled to be among the first to get the new MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary and cannot take my eyes off the brilliant Racing Orange paint scheme. Orange is the new red!"

As a reminder, all 30th Anniversary MX-5s come in just one exterior color, Racing orange, as well as a number of other unique features. Rays forged aluminum wheels, a 30th Anniversary badge featuring the vehicle's specific production number out of 3,000, Brembo front brake calipers and Nissin rear brake calipers in orange, orange accents on the door trim, seats, dashboard, and shift lever, Recaro seats, Bilstein dampers (manual models only), a Bose sound system with nine speakers, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

Mazda says 60 percent of buyers went for the soft top while the remaining 40 percent opted for the RF. Unfortunately, a breakdown of the manual take rate over the automatic transmission is not available. Compared to other MX-5s, the 30th Anniversary Edition is expected to better retain its value. Blum and his fellow 642 US owners know they've got something special.