Video (approx 7 minutes) & gallery can be viewed on the following link:
http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/why-the-mazda-mx5-is-the-worlds-most-popular-sports-car-20140912-10fx21.html
There are a couple of reasons why the Mazda MX-5 is the world's most popular two-seat convertible.
From the day it hit the road in 1989 – and long before the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ reinvigorated the notion of a lightweight sports car - the Japanese roadster has always maintained a focus on affordable fun.
It may have gained a few kilos (and a few dollars added to its price tag) over the years, but it has also gathered its fair share of fanatics – as evidenced by the fact Mazda has sold more than 940,000 of them and subsequently been recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular sports car of all time.
A fair chunk of them gathered together last weekend at Mazda Raceway (more commonly known as Laguna Seca) near Monterey in California just days after the fourth-generation (codenamed ND) MX-5 was revealed to the world for the first time.
They have come together – as they do each year – for an annual fan meet where enthusiasts from all over the United States, and a few from Canada, show off an eclectic array of machines and put them through their paces on the challenging circuit.
To celebrate the significance of the arrival of the ND model, as well as the 25th anniversary of the first MX-5, the first point on the agenda is to set a new world record for the largest group of MX-5s in one place. The previous benchmark was 1600-odd in Japan a few years ago, and last Friday more than 1840 cars were registered for a set-up photo in one of the camping grounds on the outside of the circuit.
Among them, the majority are original condition models spanning all three generations and the huge variety of limited editions released over the last quarter of a century.
But then, as the weekend unfolds, making up a large portion of those in the paddock area behind the pit building there is a huge variety of highly modified machines – some of which you wouldn't even recognise started out as a Japanese rag top – that highlights just how flexible and fun the MX-5 can be.
One of the most extreme examples is David Woolery's retro-inspired coupe that he calls the Eunos GT.
The LA-based garagista has remodelled the entire body of the car with a fixed fastback roof, all-new front-end designed to replicate the look of classic 1960's club racers such as the Austin Healey Sprite and AC Cobra, fat tyres under flared guards and is fitted specifically for the Laguna Seca fan meet with a pair of massive carbon fibre wings at each end – the rear featuring a huge slice of bacon stickered on top of it.
Why, I ask?
"Because bacon makes everything better," he says.
"If I put bacon on the wing, I'll get more downforce."
While that satirical statement says a lot about American's love of pork products, it – like Woolery's car - poignantly showcases the frivolous and fun attitude that extends across all of the MX-5 enthusiasts at Laguna Seca.
"It is a fun car, and very much an iconic car for a lot of people for a lot of different reasons," Woolery says.
"I've been around for the entire life of the car and the demographics have changed over time. Right now, it's undergoing a bit of resurgence with a younger crowd as the first and second generation cars become more economically viable for enthusiasts to get involved with them."
As for Woolery's 825kg/185kW hot rod, it also holds a special place among his expanding collection of lightweight European sportscars – which includes an Ariel Atom, Lotus Exige and a Porsche 911 – as it was the first car he ever purchased 24 years ago.
"It started off as a 1990 Miata [the American name for the MX-5]; it was my first car and I bought it brand new and for the last 20 years I've been tinkering with it ever since," he said.
"This was my only car for 17 years before I got another one, and I now have a bit of collection. But of all the cars I have this one has a really special place in my heart because it is my first car, and because I have done so much to it.
"It is the closest reflection of me."
Even though the designers of the latest ND MX-5 have purposely released the rag top roadster from its retro-rooted style, Woolery is already a big fan of returning the concept to its lightweight origins. And, just as Mazda does, he is confident it will re-kindle the enthusiastic spirit of the original.
"I think it's beautiful with a really nice design," he said.
"I kinda look at it, although it very much looks like a Miata, it's also more modern than ever before and reminds of what it would be like if a Ferrari California and a Suzuki Cappuccino had an offspring."
Besides Woolery's radical racer, there's a massive variety of other wild creations including a few with V8s stuffed under their bonnets, a trio of re-bodied speedsters that look like a shrinky dink version of an Aston Martin speedster and even a couple of tube-frame specials that take the minimilast concept to the extreme.
As you'd always find among a group of hard-core enthusiasts, there's also a fair share of colourful characters too including Mike Paar who runs an on-line spare parts business and YouTube tutorials out of Phoenix and is the self-annointed 'King of Miatas'.
You can't miss him either; standing beside a printed backdrop of an English castle wearing a bejeweled crown from a two-dollar shop and with his waxed moustache curled in spirals.
"Right now, I have about eight cars that are driveable, but I have a yard with hundreds of them," he said.
"And that makes me the King of Miatas, right?"
Although I didn't get the chance to steer the latest MX-5 at Laguna Seca, I did take a trip back in time and revisited the first three generations of the Japanese convertible, all the way back to the original 1989 NA-Series, through a turbocharged Mazdaspeed NB and to the final iteration of the current NC model, a special 25th anniversary edition.
What is immediately apparent as I slip behind the wheel of the NA is the simplicity of the concept that made it an instant classic.
Even with the expansive Californian sky showering my head in sunshine, the cabin feels small and Spartan with none of the frivolous luxuries of the latest car, such as cupholders and heated seats. But, as I look over my shoulder between the flimsy headrests, nor does it have the same level of safety and convenience like the roll over protection and wind deflectors that have become mandatory over the last 25 years.
In terms of the driving experience though, the NA offers a level of purity that few car have matched over the same time period and one that has only marginally been diluted through the three generations.
Even though this US-spec model features power steering (the earliest cars had no assistance), it still feels sharp and lively and there's just enough grip from its small 14-inch tyres to be quick enough through the turns but also highly playful.
The five-speed manual still displays the short, sharp mechanical feel that made it fun to punt along too, and while the 86kW 1.6-litre four cylinder feels underpowered by modern standards it revs smoothly and feels spritely all the way to its 6800rpm redline.
The turbo charged Mazdaspeed version of the second-generation NB series was in direct response to those enthusiasts asking for more grunt, and followed in the wheel tracks of Mazda Australia's SP model developed by racing expert Allan Horsley and his local skunkworks division.
And, while it lives up to that promise – producing significantly more power at 134kW – it somehow detracts from the purity of the original with a noticeable amount of turbo lag as the compressor builds up pressure. Still, there's no denying it is faster and even more livelier to drive at the limit, all the while maintaining the hallmarks of the first generation in terms of its steering feel and dynamics and compensating for the additional weight and size of the NB series.
And then there's the current MX-5 which, in 25th anniversary guise, immediately looks and feels more luxurious with its rich red paintjob and black alloy wheels contrasted by cream leather seats and a more modern, and spacious, cockpit.
It does, however, still feel closely related to the original in the way it drives with its 118kW 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder overcoming the additional bulk of its cartoonish body and folding metal hard top roof.
The way it steers, handles and the how you flick through the six-speed manual gearbox are nearly as sharp as engaging as ever, but against a raft of new, and more affordable, rivals – the likes of which covers the latest crop of hot hatches as well as the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ twins – the latest MX-5 is clearly more focused on the luxury of having the wind in your hair rather than making the hairs on your neck stand up.
While Mazda intends to reverse that with the new ND model, what is still obvious today – particularly at Laguna Seca – is that there is still a lot to love about, and a lot of love for, the Japanese roadster.
