1999 Mazda Miata 10th Anniversary Edition on 2040-cars

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Road & Track to take Miata on million-mile march

Road & Track has taken on a Miata project. One hell of a project, if we're honest. You see, the Miata in question, a 1989 example in Mariner Blue, isn't a high-mileage Mazda that the publication intends to fix up, or make race-worthy, or try to flip or give away to a reader or something. No, it's a rather typical well-used NA, with a hefty 325,000 miles on the clock to-date that the staff plans on driving until the six-digit odo reads all zeros again. One million miles or bust (or both, most likely).
Procured for the bargain-basement price of $1,600, complete with seat covers that "really do look like muppet pelts" (according to Zach Bowman) and a bondo-filled love tap on the nose, the NA Miata actually looks like just the sort of fun-machine that a real driving enthusiast would pick up to get some cheap thrills in. The R&T team already has some interesting plans for the Miata, including a potential run up Pikes Peak and loaning it out to readers (or perhaps your author...). Click through to read all about it.

Mazda Miata 'fathers' Hall and Case offer a tour through the roadster's history

The original Mazda Miata broke onto the automotive scene in 1989 and was a huge success. However, the convertible's genesis goes all the way back to the early '80s. Bob Hall and Dean Case were among the inside men of the program on the US side, and they were on hand at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the recent MX-5 event there to tell some of their stories about the project's beginning.
Hall was on the Miata project from very early on, and one of his most fascinating stories is how the convertible got its shape. The droptop wasn't necessarily going to be a rear-wheel drive roadster. There were both front-wheel-drive coupe and mid-engine concepts being considered. In fact, the classic look of the NA generation was the least favorite of the three at the sketch stage.
Hall comes off as a jokester hiding a genius mind. He has a fountain of information in his head about what a Miata should be, but it all comes down to "less is more." However, he admits that it's easy to conceive that idea, but it's much harder to actually execute it well.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata won't get power folding hardtop

Following the reveal of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, more and more details (and rumors - oh, the rumors) are coming out regarding exactly what's in store when the car finally goes on sale. Our own Chris Paukert had plenty to say about the exterior and interior, and we've now seen the first photo of the engine. But a new report from Automobile sheds even more light on the 2016 Miata - specifically, that the power folding hardtop model won't be available, at least initially.
Automobile reports that the 2016 MX-5 will only be offered with a cloth top, and an insider confirmed that the mechanism is light and accessible enough that it can be raised and lowered with one hand from inside the car. Mazda officials would not comment on the availability of a hardtop in the coming years.
That said, a hardtop Miata isn't out of the question. There will likely be some sort of fixed roof available - even as a one-piece, lift-off accessory - if only for club racing. Also, remember that the current NC Miata's hardtop is the only one on the market that doesn't take up any additional trunk space, so it's an attractive proposition for buyers. Currently, the power hardtop is only offered on the Club and Grand Touring MX-5 Miata trims.