Orange Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary edition unveiled

Almost thirty years to the date of the reveal of the first Mazda MX-5 – the cult roadster that has defined a generation of motoring, an anniversary special of the current MX-5 generation has been revealed. Mazda have used the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, the same show where the first ‘NA’ generation was shown in 1989 to unveil the 2019 Mazda MX-5 30th Anniversary Edition, which is painted in a distinctive Racing Orange hue.

Australia will receive one per cent of the global production of the ‘ND’ 30th Anniversary edition, with 30 cars coming down under in soft-top form, with specification based on the 2.0L Roadster GT trim in manual form.

On top of the unique orange paint, the 30th Anniversary features the same Recaro alcantara seats that were seen on the MX-5 RF Limited Edition last year. Orange accents feature prominently on the seat, in the form of bright piping and stitching – and there’s also orange on the steering wheel, air vents, door trim and dash. Outside, you’ll spot orange brake calipers hiding behind RAYS ZE40 RS30 forged alloy wheels.

Like the RF Limited Edition, the 30th Anniversary also uses Bilstein dampers. In the LE, we found that these gave a more controlled ride with less lean. The brake calipers are Brembo up front, and Nissin in the rear.

Local pricing has not been announced for the 30th Anniversary, though we envision that there would be an appropriate upcharge on the standard 2.0L Roadster GT manual’s sticker price of $41,960 ($45,788 driveaway).

A spokesperson for Mazda Australia said that the small allotment of MX-5 30th Anniversary vehicles heading for our shores “will be offered to Mazda’s loyal MX-5 customers on a first come first served basis”, with the company reaching out across electronic forms of communication.

In the previous three decades, more than one million Mazda MX-5s have been sold globally.