The Mazda MX5 was the sports car that revived the genre and today has a huge following around the world, not least within the UK, a country that was reminded of its obsession with the soft-top small sports car by Mazda’s masterpiece.
You can read our other blogs starting with Why Mazda created the MX5 or what happened when it went into production and caught the UK’s imagination with our second part in the series, Mazda MX-5 – The Best British Sports Car Ever?
The timeline of the fascinating story of this fun little car can be found below, read on to find out more about Mazda’s MX-5 history.
Don’t forget, that we at Peter James know the Mazda MX-5 very well indeed. We have an insurance package specifically designed for Mazda MX-5 owners, tailored by our partners, the MX-5 Owners Club. So, give us a call and have your membership number at the ready!
MX-5 history timeline
- Feb 1989 – Original MX-5 debuts at Chicago Auto Show
- Oct 1997- Second-generation MX-5 debuts at Tokyo Motor Show
- Dec 1998 – 10th Anniversary Limited Edition MX-5 launched
- May 2000 – Recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s best-selling two-seater sports car (531,890 units produced)
- Jan 2002 – Production reaches 600,000 units (Guinness World Record updated)
- Mar 2005 – Third-generation MX-5 debuts at Geneva International Motor Show
- Apr 2005 – Production reaches 700,000 units (Guinness World Record updated)
- Jul 2006 – Retractable hardtop model debuts at the British International Motor Show
- Jan 2007 – Production reaches 800,000 units (Guinness World Record updated)
- Jul 2009 – 20th Anniversary Limited Edition MX-5 launched
- Feb 2011 – Production reaches 900,000 units (Guinness World Record updated)
- Apr 2014 – 25th Anniversary Edition MX-5 launched
- Sep 2014 – Fourth-generation MX-5 debuts
- Mar 2016 – Mazda MX-5 RF debuts at New York International Auto Show
