10-year anniversary Mazda MX-5 special in the wings

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If you were thinking of putting an example of Mazda’s hugely rewarding and highly likeable MX-5 sportscar on your driveway but wanted something a little more exclusive, you might only have to wait just a few more weeks.

The Japanese car maker has all but confirmed it will mark a significant birthday of the MX-5 roadster with a unique anniversary special edition potentially just weeks or even days away.

When asked if the little company’s popular convertible was poised to roll out in a limited special edition, Mazda Australia marketing director Alastair Doak simply advised to “Stay tuned”.

But exactly how many years of age the party will be to celebrate is yet to be revealed, with two birthdays looming.

While the iconic two-seater was first revealed in its fourth generation at three separate locations around the world in 2014, it made its official debut at the Paris motor show in October of that year. That means we could be about to see a ten-years of ND-generation MX-5 special roll out.

However, the first-generation NA model launched at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1989 which means the 35th anniversary of the entire model series is coming in a couple of months, leaving the door open for an even bigger milestone special edition.

It’s not uncommon for Mazda to introduce more exclusive limited-run variants of the much-celebrated two-seater’s anniversaries and achievements.

As is typical for sportscar models of all brands and price brackets, the ND-generation MX-5 spiked in sales at launch before settling into background sales, with subsequent spikes prompted by a series of special and mid-life updates.

Quite what the imminent limited edition will look like, how many will be offered to Australia and how much attention it will attract remains to be revealed by the local team, but it will almost certainly prompt another sales spike.

To the end of August 2024, Mazda had sold 424 MX-5s in Australia – more than the same point a year before thanks to an update introduced at the start of the year. Before that, the company introduced the RS more performance focused MX-5, which also lifted sales for a time.

Over the course of the MX-5’s storied life, Mazda has periodically marked significant birthdays, sales milestones and other significant events with limited edition offerings around the world.

A 10-year anniversary edition was launched for the 1999 NA which had six-speed manual gearbox in place of the standard five-speed, enhanced suspension, polished alloy wheels, an LSD and widespread blue highlights throughout.

A 20th birthday version came along during the model’s NC generation, while the 25th anniversary version was offered just before the third-gen model was discontinued.

That left the 30th birthday to be celebrated early on in the ND MX-5’s life with a striking Racing Orange limited edition for both soft-top and hard-top RF that was offered around the world. It got Matching orange brake calipers, Recaro seats and Rays forged wheels in dark gunmetal paint.