2019 Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition

Thirty years after it made its debut at the Chicago Auto Show, Mazda’s MX-5 not only returned to the Windy City, but arrived in special ‘30th Anniversary Edition’ form.

Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show back in February, the 30th Anniversary Edition MX-5 will be produced as a limited edition of 3,000 units worldwide, available on both the traditional soft top and RF retractable hard top body styles.

Of that total, 500 were allocated to the USA and all sold out within hours of becoming available. For Australia, only 30 have been released, all in soft top form, based on the current ND Series 2.0-litre Roadster GT. You’re unlikely to see one in dealerships, though, as Mazda say they only offered these limited editions to loyal MX-5 customers.

Orange Effect

The colour scheme for the 30th-anniversary model – Racing Orange – is said to be inspired by an ‘MX-5 Miata Club Racer’ in a similar shade that was exhibited at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show alongside the first production models.

Expanding on this, Mazda says the colour scheme, which extends to the brake calipers (Brembo front, Nissin rear) and upper door trims, is evocative of sunrise and anticipation.

In addition to the exclusive colour, the MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition also features Bilstein dampers and ZE40 RS30 17-inch forged alloy wheels from Rays that were developed exclusively for the MX-5 and include subtle ‘30th Anniversary’ decals.

In something of an unusual touch, a badge on the rear quarter identifying the 30th Anniversary also display the model’s individual serial number; a feature more commonly seen on interior badging.

Speaking of interior badging, there isn’t any, but Racing Orange features on the vent surrounds, with orange piping on the seats and orange stitching on the doors, dash, shifter boot, seats and steering wheel.

Seats are Recaro, with Alcantara centre trim that extends to the doors and dash.

Continuing Tradition

The 30th Anniversary Edition MX-5 continues the trend of Mazda releasing special models in selected markets to mark birthdays and other significant milestones.

The first of these, released on the MX-5’s 10th Anniversary, was finished in a unique Innocent Blue Mica, while True Red, Crystal White Pearl Mica and Aurora Blue Mica were released for the 20th Anniversary.

For the MX-5’s 25th Anniversary in 2014, Soul Red Crystal metallic paint was offered on a special edition that was limited to 1,000 units globally, 40 of which came to Australia. Soul Red has since become a regular MX-5 colour and has also been extended to other models in the Mazda range.