In the realm of affordable, fun classics that are heating up rapidly, early Miatas like this ’93 are in the most-wanted category. It’s up for bids here on eBay, in Flanders NJ, and has less than 48 hours left to bid. Seriously, let’s look how nice this car is!
“Miata” comes from old high-German for “reward” The very first ideas behind the Miata were sparked in about 1976, when Motor Trend contributor Bob Hall met with Mazda at their request, and waxed poetic about the apparent death of the British roadster. Hall is quoted on Automobilemag.com as having said: “I babbled […] how the […] simple, bugs-in-the-teeth, wind-in-the-hair, classically-British sports car doesn’t exist any more. I told Mr. Yamamoto that somebody should build one […] inexpensive roadster”.
To be fair, the Brits had done well enough over the years with fun two-seaters, but they weren’t what they could have been, and the public lost interest as the British vehicles’ shortcomings became more and more evident. it wasn’t until the mid-’70s that someone had the chutzpah (or “da-eetan-sa” in Japanese) to plan one again for mass-production. Long story short, Mazda debuted their bold new product at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989, and were rewarded (See what I did there?) with immediate praise and much public interest.
Since then, more than a million have sold worldwide, making it the best-selling car in its class. The first generation, which our featured car represents, sold 400,000 units from 1989 to 1997. Early cars had a 1.6 liter inline-four, and the ’94 through ’97 had a 1.8 liter. Manual and automatic transmissions could be had, and their fun, comfortable, easy-maintenance nature have made them very popular as cruisers or track-racing cars. The aftermarket support is vast and plentiful.
We look now at the example presented, and save for a few things, it’s in really, really nice shape. Body, interior, and underhood look rather nice, and a claimed 15,000 original miles makes for a very tempting toy. The seller tells us quite a bit, but in summary: It’s equipped with the top trim level, everything works as it should and, while it’s not perfect, it’s ready to drive across the country if the next owner is far away.
I personally really like first-gen Miatas. I had a chance to borrow one once, and I fell instantly in love, despite the low power ratings. It’s zippy, the gears change with the flick of a wrist, and you can throw it around a corner confidently, even without a limited-slip rear diff.
That’s what I think, what do you think? Let us know!
Can’t help but feel that someone has done a mr potato head here – the first tan interiors were on the BRG limited editions, have never seen white / tan on an NA, and the silver stereo was only fitted to the black and red cars, coming with silver teardrop speaker covers and separate tweeters.
Still an amazing car tho…bought my Mariner blue car new in 90, and after many changes to a CSP autocross car and 400k km I’ve handed it off to my daughter…still with mostly original paint.
My 94 is the exact same car with the exception of the 1.8 L engine. The MSSS stereo was available in that car and the tan leather was part of the C package.
Fun cars. Parts are readily available and they are still reliable cars.
Amazingly fun and durable cars that still manage to put a grin on your face after owning one for years… they are also the most raced cars in the world and even though they’re not super fast, they feel fast and will leave a lot of cars in the dust when carving through corners …buy one and as the saying goes, drive it like you stole it… on a side note, you could always get a kit and throw a 5 liter or larger engine in there!
Sure, but then wouldn’t the near perfect balance be off? When will people learn that ample power is enough?
Actually, Ken, the kits are designed as such that the near perfect balance is maintained and surprisingly enough, a 5 litre engine only adds 200 lbs to the total weight… Totally a matter of personal choice but then again, people called Carroll Shelby crazy for sticking a V8 in an AC Ace… I love my bone stock Miata but a lottery win might tempt me to be a little crazy and have a Monster Miata in the garage too!