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Mazda’s 35th Anniversary Miata: Burgundy Is Back, Baby
It’s easy for enthusiasts to complain about limited editions of widely available sports cars, which are often expensive and ornate, but we just can’t bring ourselves to resent the 35th Anniversary Edition Miata, which we’ve been anticipating since December. Mazda will only make 300 for North America, and, though they carry a reasonable MSRP of $37,445 (destination included), you best believe dealers will markup these manual-only soft-tops. But what better model to celebrate than the simple, good Miata?
Mazda is well known for Soul Red Crystal paint, but the shade of red on the 35th Anniversary car—more of a burgundy—strikes a chord for the well-read Miata lover. In the ’90s, Mazda made a string of M Edition Miatas, and the one for 1995 wore a burgundy hue called Merlot Mica over a tan leather interior. The 2000 Special Edition, when the model was in its second generation, had a similar, wine-like paint named Mahogany Mica and a tan interior. Twenty-five years later, red over tan is back. Artisan Red Metallic over tan, with a beige top, to be precise.
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In the photo of the car at Daytona Speedway, the paint looks like a red-toned version of eggplant purple, but in the studio shot above, it looks more like its name. The color is the fourth installment in Mazda’s “bespoke Takuminuri paint process,” which uses robots to “duplicate the techniques of Mazda’s best craftsmen.” Rather than mix the metallic flakes with the color, the robots lay down the pigment and the shiny bits in two separate layers (the order depends on the paint). Soul Red Crystal was the first Takuminuri color, in 2012, followed by Machine Grey in 2016 and Rhodium White in 2022, the same year as Artisan Red Metallic.
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The 35th Anniversary Edition is based on the highest available trim of the Miata, Grand Touring ($35,815), and thus is equipped with an asymmetric limited-slip diff, shock tower braces, and Bilstein dampers, along with heated seats and Bose audio. The seats, upholstered in tan Nappa leather, are one of the few places Mazda has indulged itself—each headrest is embossed with a large “35” above “anniversary,” framed by a wreath. The 35th Anniversary cars also wear the optional rear spoiler, painted in the body color ($360, on a normal Miata). Here’s the configurator.
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A Miata is an old-school car, and the 35th Anniversary is an old-school special edition: Mazda hasn’t gone for illuminated sill plates or garish badging on its limited-run Miatas—of which it has made many—and the latest one keeps to that pattern.
Cheers to Mazda for standing by a good, simple car. Long live the Miata!
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It’s a pretty color. Long live the Miata indeed!
still one of the very best iterations for over 35 years…think I may inquire lol
Good luck!! Only 300 being made. My local Mazda dealer would sell to me at MRSP. They only need a $ 1000.00 NON refundable deposit. Even if they’re not allocated a car, they’ll make a ton of $ on the deposits.
But it still only has 181 hp. My 25 year old Z3 has more than that from the factory. Could they not even OFFER a few more ponies on a special edition? I get it. It’s the roadster of all roadsters – the so-called GOAT, but there has to be a time when someone at Mazda has to say, let’s give it a little more “zoom-zoom.”