Mazda releases 20th anniversary MX-5

By Matt Brogan | August 03rd, 2009

To commemorate two decades of the MX-5, Mazda has released a special 20th Anniversary edition of its lightweight, two-seat, open-top sports car for the Japanese market.

The MX-5 has attracted a wide range of customers since its launch in 1989, and is currently sold in approximately 60 countries.

The MX-5 was certified as the world’s most produced two-seat, open-top sports cars by Guinness World Records when production reached 800,000 units. Total production of the Mazda Roadster now stands in excess of 860,000 units.

The soft top 20th Anniversary edition comes with a six-speed manual transmission while the retractable hard top gains a six-speed automatic transmission.

Special equipment includes unique red and black Recaro bucket sport seats, exclusive ‘20th Anniversary’ badges, and clear front fog lights.

Currently the 20th Anniversary edition is only available for sale in Japan.

To celebrate the MX-5′s 20th birthday CarAdvice will be retro-roadtesting the original MX-5 against the 2009 model in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

Falcodore

Sounds like a great comparo to see how far a brilliant car has evolved. 860,000 people cant be wrong!
Angel

These are a great vehicle, but the price has really balloned out badly, top of the line Roadstar $50k+ its just crazy.

The Mazda2 based soft-top cannot come out soon enough.
Falcodore

The price might be a bit much for some Angel,but considering what it is and what it competes with, its actually great value. Nothing else comes close to it.
http://OzMPSclub.com OzMPSclub

The MX5 is a great little car and what an achievement

Bring the 20th Anniversary to Australia as they will be snapped up by the die-hard…
Angel

Some dude did a few with LexusV8 transplant, called a Bullet or something similar, waste of time.

What MazdaCo Japan should do is fit a rotary turbo into it, then it would be suitable for petrol-heads and hard-corers looking for performance, and not just hairdressers as per now.

0-100km/h = 4s, as it jolly well should be, NOT all looks and no guts, a crayfish if you will!

Silly money all the same, its best days are over in Oz.
http://Caradvice.com.au Baddass

When you think about it, when everyone is saying to Mazda to put a more powerful motor in the MX-5, they don’t realise that doing this would destroy the purpose of the MX-5: it isn’t about high performance, and it never will be. It is about the whole driving package. If you want a more powerful Mazda, inquire about the RX-8.
MGH

Its a pity Mazda doesn’t release a turbocharged version for those people who want a quick car, but don’t want a peaky, inefficient rotary. A turbocharger wouldn’t increase weight or affect handling, but it would make the engine more powerful and tractable.
Alex

Anybody who thinks the MX-5 needs more power just doesn’t get it. It’s a brilliant car with the 2.0 engine. I would say a perfect amount of power. Now that the previous Z4 is gone and we’re about to lose the S2000, it’s basically the only real roadster left on the market. Roadsters are about showcasing all the cars talents and then adding an engine at the end so it goes. They’re about handling and fun, not 0-100 in 4 seconds.

Angel, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Alex

I used to have a turbocharged NB ’01 MX5. I owned the car with and without the turbo. Let me tell you that this car desperately NEEDS MORE POWER. The turbocharger was a GT25R and netted around 180rwkw at 13psi. Hardly added any weight. The car was a beast especially with upgraded suspension and R-compound tires. Power out of corners was incredible. If you want to play with the *best* of them on the track then you need more grunt in this car.