Mazda MX-5: What Makes The 35th Anniversary Miata So Special?

Every year at Florida's Daytona International Speedway, 24 hours of racing takes place, with the world's fastest, most powerful machines participating. It's a mecca for car enthusiasts and at the end of all the action, a few people get a really fancy watch. This year Mazda took advantage of the moment as an opportunity to celebrate, too. In fact, the company kicked things off before the checkered flag ever dropped. 

What was Mazda celebrating? The 35th anniversary of the Miata MX-5 — one of the best Mazda cars of all time.

Mazda's MX-5 Miata two-door roadster, a recipe for happiness, has been on sale for 3½ decades now, so Mazda took the wraps off a uniquely trimmed version to mark the occasion. Special paint, unique trim pieces, and specialized badging are all part of the package, but production numbers will be very low for this version of the Miata — so getting your hands on one might prove pretty difficult.

Under the hood of the 35th Anniversary MX-5 is the standard 2.0L four-cylinder engine that produces 181 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the Grand Touring model, and it's the only transmission you can get on the Anniversary model — just as it should be with a Miata. 

The Anniversary's special paint borrows a bit from Mazda's three-row crossover, the Mazda CX-90 — a color called Artisan Red Metallic. To go along with the paint is a beige soft top and bright-finish 17-inch wheels — there's no option for the hard-top Miata MX-5 RF with the Anniversary model. The rear spoiler is color-matched and the rear fender gets a special badge with a serial number.

To match the soft top, Mazda has also given the Anniversary edition Miata tan carpets, tan floor mats, and tan leather upholstery with special logos in the headrests. Lest you forget what color your interior is, Mazda made sure to wrap the key fob in tan leather as well. Other small details like the air-conditioning vents and pieces of the upper door panels are painted to match the Artisan Red exterior. 

Driving the Anniversary, you'll be the envy of all your friends at your local Miata meet — especially since Mazda is only bringing 300 of them to the United States. Suggested price for the 35th Anniversary Miata is $36,250 (plus $1,185 destination fee).