Year, Make, Model: 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition Top Line: As promised, Mazda took the wraps off of a special edition of its much-loved MX-5 at the Chicago Auto Show on Thursday. It celebrates the roadster's 30th birthday at the very same auto show where the O.G. Miata first debuted in 1989. Mazda Mazda What's New: To celebrate three decades since the world first clapped eyes on the NA Miata, Mazda has given its latest special edition sports car an exclusive coat of orange paint imaginatively dubbed Racing Orange. The vitamin C theme extends inside with orange trim gracing the seats, door cards, dash, and shift knob. Peeking behind the wheels are orange brake calipers (Brembos up front, Nissins in the rear). Speaking of wheels, the 30th Anniversary Edition also gets forged Rays ZE40 RS30 aluminum wheels that were apparently developed exclusively for this car. Of course, it wouldn't be a special edition motor vehicle without a badge that sets it apart from its less special stablemates and the 30th Anniversary MX-5 is no different. Mazda Mazda<doc-sep>Update 5/14/19 11:12 AM ET: Mazda announced today that it will bring 143 more examples of the Miata 30th Anniversary Edition to the US, bringing the total to 643 of the 3000 it's building for the world. The original 500 allocated to the US was entirely spoken for within hours, so these 143 additional cars will go to customers on a wait list. Our original story from the car's debut on 02/07/2019 appears below. Yes, friends, the Mazda Miata is 30 years old. This brilliant roadster made its debut three decades ago at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, and today, Mazda has returned to the Windy City to show off the 2019 MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition. It's very orange. The new hue is called Racing Orange, and it was formulated specifically for this car. In addition to the exclusive paint, the 30th Anniversary gets Bilstein shocks and a mechanical limited-slip differential (the latter only available with a manual transmission), plus Brembo brakes and Recaro seats. The 17-inch forged Rays wheels are unique, too, inspired by the wheels on the MX-5 Cup race car and painted gunmetal gray. Also unique to the 30th Anniversary is Alcantara interior trim, with orange stitching and matching piping for the Recaro seats. It's all very snazzy. Of course, the 30th Anniversary benefits from all the upgrades that come to the Miata for 2019, including a 181-hp, 7500-rpm gem of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder. In Japan, you can order your 30th Anniversary with the base 1.5-liter, but the rest of the world gets the 2.0. Only 3000 Anniversary Editions will be built for the entire world, with just 500 of those slated for the US. And as Roadshow's Steven Ewing pointed out on Twitter, the pre-order for the US allocation is already sold out. Pricing starts at $34,995 for a stick-shift soft-top, while the RF starts at $37,595. The optional automatic transmission adds $500 to the soft-top, $400 extra in the RF. That base price is actually the same as a similarly-equipped MX-5 Club, which makes the 30th Anniversary seem like a deal to us. It's hard to overstate the importance of the Miata, which in its 30 years has sold more than one million units and developed a cult following. It's a success story that deserves to be celebrated. Here's to the next 30 years. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>The much-anticipated 30th Anniversary version of the delightful Mazda MX-5 Miata is here. Every example will be painted Racing Orange and feature orange piping and orange interior louvers and accents, and they'll also be fitted with the Club trim's limited-slip differential, Bilstein shocks (manual only), and front shock tower mounts. It comes with unique Rays ZE40 RS30 forged aluminum wheels, orange brake calipers and a 30th Anniversary badge that features the car's serial number. Convertible anniversary editions will have black cloth tops, while the RF retractable hardtop's roof is body color. Three-thousand of the Mazda Miata 30th Anniversary editions will be sold globally, with 500 of them due to come Stateside, said Masahiro Moro, Mazda's North America chief. Should you want to get in line, head to Mazda's special site to register your interest. Never mind. All 500 were spoken for just four hours after the order books opened. But if you absolutely must have this paint color and interior trim, be aware that Mazda has a habit of adding special-edition paint colors to their regular production palette the following model year. See all 24 photos See all 24 photos The Racing Orange paint hearkens back to the racing version of the NA Miata unveiled 30 years ago, and also represents "sunrise and anticipation," Moro said at the Chicago Auto Show unveil. The U.S. unveiling of the 1990 Mazda Miata was at this show in February 1989, and Chicago has several times since hosted the introduction of special versions of the NA, NB, and NC MX-5s. This is the first special-edition version of the ND, which was updated for '19 with more power, a higher redline, and other miscellaneous tweaks. The base price for the 2019 Mazda Miata 30th Anniversary edition is $35,915, and includes Alcantara-lined Recaro seats. The automatic transmission, we presume, costs extra, so why bother? Stick with the Bilsteins instead, we say. Mazda states that the 500 units coming to America will be not be sold in sequence by serial number.<doc-sep>
The Mazda MX-5 Miata celebrates three decades of top-down motoring with the arrival of a special 30th Anniversary Edition model. Unveiled at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, the very venue where the original Miata debuted in 1989, the MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition is limited to a production run of 3,000 units, only 500 of which Mazda is earmarking for the United States. Gallery: 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition 26 Photos Available in both soft top and retractable hardtop RF guises, the 30th Anniversary Edition model stands out by way of its 10-spoke forged aluminum wheels by Rays, Racing Orange paint job, and orange brake calipers. Orange accents highlight the interior, as well, with the color contrasting with the black leather and plastics that line much of the roadster’s door trim, shift lever, dashboard, and seats. Still, the 30th Anniversary Edition stands out as much for its orange hues and Rays wheels as it does for its features list, which includes convenience items such as rain-sensing windshield wipers, automatic high-beam headlights, automatic air-conditioning, and an in-dash navigation system, as well as racier bits such as Recaro seats, Brembo front brake calipers, and Bilstein dampers, the latter of which are limited to models equipped with the standard six-speed manual transmission (a six-speed automatic is optional). The limited edition Miata also welcomes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the model’s fold. Like all 2019 Miata’s, the 30th Anniversary Edition relies on a 181-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine for motivation. While the playful powertrain is a joy to wind out, it would surely be even more enjoyable with another 20 horses in its stable. Maybe Mazda will surprise us with a Mazdaspeed Miata redux in the upcoming years. Those interested in nabbing a 2019 Mazda Miata 30th Anniversary Edition will need to head over to www.mazdausa.com/30th-anniversary, where buyers can pre-order the limited run model that starts at $34,995 (add $2,600 for the RF).