--- title: "The Mazda MX-5 Turns 35 Today. Here’s How It Changed Over the Years" description: "The Mazda MX-5 is 35 years old today. Let's take a look at how this iconic convertible sports car has evolved." date: "2024-02-09" modified: "2024-02-09" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-mazda-mx-5-turns-35-today-heres-how-it-changed-over-the-years" categories: - "Culture" - "History" - "Mazda News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Convertible" - "Coupe" - "mazda" - "miata" - "mx-5" - "sports car" --- # The Mazda MX-5 Turns 35 Today. Here’s How It Changed Over the Years ![1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata]() *\Mazda\* On this day in 1989 according to [*Japanese Nostalgic Car*](), Mazda would change the course of automotive history. At the Chicago Auto Show, it whipped the cover off a bright-eyed little roadster that the world would come to call the MX-5, or Miata. It doesn't matter if you call it that or something meaner though, because the MX-5 is now one of the bestselling sports cars in history, and the most-raced car of all time. It's a legacy worth looking back on—and forward from, with the future looking dark for cars like the MX-5. The first-generation (or [NA]()) Miata arrived in 1989 as the synthesis of two of the greatest things in the automotive world. It was a marriage of the simple, cheap British roadster formula with newly proven Japanese reliability. The Miata was cute, easy to drive, and with modest 1.6- and 1.8-liter engines, well-suited for training a generation of drivers how to carry speed through corners. It was a smash hit even among the Japanese sport compact boom of its era, surviving the late-1990s decline that felled even titans like the [Nissan Skyline GT-R](). ![2005 Mazdaspeed Miata (NB)]() ![2007 Mazda MX-5 (NC)]() In 1998, the NA Miata was succeeded by the second-gen NB that would carry on the torch. It saw the 1999 foundation of [Spec Miata](), which cemented the MX-5's status as the most-raced chassis on the planet. The NB also became the only factory-turbocharged Miata to date with the short-lived [Mazdaspeed]() before its replacement by the third-gen NC in 2005. The heavier NC with its puffy cheeks is remembered as a low point for the Miata, having the highest curb weight of them all. Still, it kept the MX-5's flag flying through a recession that killed plenty of automotive brands and their signature cars—[including Mazda's own rotary](). It endured, and in doing so paved the way for the MX-5 we know today, the ND. ![2024 Mazda MX-5]() *2024 Mazda MX-5. *Mazda** Aside from shedding weight and adopting a scowly face, [the ND refined the MX-5 formula]() and has improved drastically throughout its production run. 2019 models picked up a whole 23 horsepower, and [2022s onward]() feature torque vectoring. There was also an unusual companion model, the [Fiat 124 Spider]() (or Fiata), which featured a 1.4-liter turbo engine and charming Italian looks. But it couldn't dethrone the [Mazda](), and it quietly bowed out in 2019. The MX-5's history is a legacy of improvement, and that looks set to continue with the next generation, expected to called "NG." [Mazda]() confirmed to us in 2021 that [the next MX-5 will be electrified]()—don't freak out, that probably doesn't mean it'll become an EV. Our money's on the MX-5 gaining 48-volt mild hybrid tech and compatibility with synthetic fuels when it arrives [in 2025](). Mazda says it still plans to keep the MX-5 light and affordable too, so expectations are sky-high. Or should we say, [Skyactiv]() high? *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()