The second generation MX-5 ( NB ) was launched in 1998 and the current ( NC ) model has been in production since 2006.

" Sarducci has appeared in four cold openings in the 1979 – 1980 season ( on episodes hosted by Steve Martin, Teri Garr, Elliott Gould, and Rodney Dangerfield ), two commercial parodies (" MX-5 Tampons " on the 1981 – 1982 Christmas episode hosted by Bill Murray and " Bocce Ball My Way " on the last episode of the 1985 – 1986 season hosted by Anjelica Huston and Billy Martin ), and two monologues on the 1985 – 1986 season ( the first hosted by Madonna in a pretaped sketch showing Madonna's wedding to Sean Penn ( played by Robert Downey, Jr .) and the second on the Christmas episode of the 1985 – 1986 season hosted by Garr as Sarducci's alter ego, Pope Maurice ).

* The Mazda MX-5 has been available since the 2006 model year with an optional power retractable hardtop, in lieu of the standard folding-textile soft-top.

The MX-5 is one of the few cars offering both hardtop and soft-top convertible choices, so it is possible to make a direct performance comparison ; the hardtop has slower acceleration but a higher top speed.

To date, however, there has not yet been a full Mazdaspeed-tuned RX-8 along the same line as the Mazdaspeed Protege, Mazdaspeed MX-5, Mazdaspeed6, or the Mazdaspeed3.

Typically a visco-differential that has covered or more will be functioning largely as an open differential ; this is a known weakness of the original Mazda MX-5 ( a. k. a. Miata ) sports car.

Although Mazda's concept was for the MX-5 to be an inexpensive sports car, the market proved extremely eager for it ; the car became an overnight novelty, resulting in many dealers placing customers on lists for pre-order due to the demand exceeding the anticipated supply.

Inducing oversteer is easy and very controllable, thus making the MX-5 a popular choice for amateur and stock racing, including, in the US, the Sports Car Club of America's Solo2 autocross and Spec Miata race series, and in the UK, the Ma5da racing championship.

The book contains alternative suggestions for incorporating other donors including a BMW E36, Mazda MX-5 and also motorcycle engines.

The SCCA also sanctions professional series for some amateur classes, such as the Mazda MX-5 Cup ( Spec Miata ), Spec Racer Ford Pro, Formula Enterprises Pro, and the F2000 Championship Series.

The original Elan is commonly credited as being the design inspiration for the highly successful 1989 Mazda MX-5 ( Mazda Miata in North America ).

* Mazda MX-5 Miata I4 7200 RPM ( 7500 rpm for some markets )

It was the basis for two generations of the Mazda MX-5.

In Japan FSW is applied to suspension struts at Showa Denko and for joining of aluminium sheets to galvanized steel brackets for the boot lid of the Mazda MX-5.

A Skip Barber High Performance Driving School Lotus The skip barber school owns 60 Formula Skip Barber open-wheel school cars and race-prepped Mazda MX-5 Cup cars for the Racing School, Racing Series and Corporate Events and 60 Skip Barber Formula 2000 race cars for the six racing championships.

By 1989, with a definitive model name now chosen, the MX-5 ( as in " Mazda Experiment ", project number 5 ) was ready to be introduced to the world as a true lightweight sports car, weighing just.

* 1989 – 1997 Mazda MX-5 ( convertible )

* 1989 Mazda MX-5 ( NA )

Interest in small roadsters increased following the launch of the Mazda MX-5 in 1989, and MG ( then owned by Rover Group ) capitalised on this in 1992 by producing new body panels to create an updated version of the old car.

* 1998 – 2005 Mazda MX-5 ( convertible )

The Mazda6 was the first example of the company's new Stylish, Insightful, and Spirited design philosophy followed by the Mazda2 in December 2002, the RX-8 in August 2003, the Mazda3 in January 2004, the Mazda5 in the summer of 2005, the MX-5 in October 2005, and the Mazda CX-7 in November 2006.

* 2005 Mazda MX-5 ( NC )

The MX-5 was conceived as a small roadster – with light weight and minimal mechanical complexity limited only by legal and safety requirements ; technologically modern, but a philosophically direct descendant of small British and Italian roadsters of the 1960s such as the Triumph Spitfire, MG MGB, Fiat 124 Sport Spider, Alfa Romeo Spider and Lotus Elan.

A year after, in 2004, another Mazdaspeed model was offered, the Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata ; it too was released only in the North American market.

In the United Kingdom, Mazda would release a special edition of its MX-5 with the racing color and also a BBR ( Brodie Brittain Racing ) turbo conversion ; only 24 were produced and the car is one of the most sought after special edition cars of its model.

This switch in focus also resulted in the development of another lightweight sports car, the piston-powered Mazda Roadster ( perhaps better known by its worldwide names as the MX-5 or Miata ), inspired by the concept ' jinba ittai '.

Sega is among the biggest manufacturers of these kinds of cabinets, while Namco released Ridge Racer Full Scale, in which the player sat in a full size Mazda MX-5 road car.

* Bullet ( car ), car prototype was built in 1996 utilising a Mazda MX-5 body

At start of the 1990s, after the introduction of their two-seater grand-tourer R129 SL and the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-Benz set out to create a new compact roadster, slotted below the SL.

The Age Solo cars are Prophetie ( resembles Mazda MX-5 ), Dirigeant, Bataille ( resembles the coupe version of AC Cobra ), Megere, Antilope ( resembles Jaguar E Type ), Averse, Licorne ( resembles Panoz Esperante GTR-1 ), Sorciere ( resembles McLaren F1 ), Supernova ( resembles Ferrari 333 SP ) and Ecureuil.

The Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge is a race series using Mazda MX-5 cup cars with specifications closely matched to those of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy MX-5 Cup series.

However, a " skunkworks project " engineering team within Mazda kept the development of the 13B-MSP alive using MX-5 Miata chassis, eventually catching the attention of management, which at this time had come under heavy influence from Ford.

* Mazda MX-5 ( 2007 – present )

* 2006 – 2008 Mazda MX-5 ( convertible-soft-top )

* 2007 – 2008 Mazda MX-5 PRHT ( convertible-hard-top )

* 2007 – 2008 Mazda MX-5 Roadster Coupe ( convertible-hard-top )

The MX-5, also known as Miata () in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan, is a lightweight two-seater roadster, of front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan.

Since the launch of the third generation MX-5, Mazda consolidated worldwide marketing using the MX-5 name, though enthusiasts in the US still refer to it as Miata, a name that means " reward " in Old High German, and the vehicle in 2012 was still marketed by Mazda in the US as the MX-5 Miata.

The MX-5 also incorporates a truss marketed as the Powerplant Frame ( PPF ) which connects the engine to the differential, minimizing flex and contributing to responsive handling.

Examples include the Caterham 7, Mazda MX-5, and the Chevrolet Corvette.

Two current-day examples of vehicles with a detachable hardtop available are the Jeep Wrangler, and the Mazda MX-5.

File: Mazda MX-5 hardtop. jpg | Mazda Miata Power Retractable Hard Top ( PRHT ) c. 2007, the hardtop constructed of polycarbonate, shown raised, adding and providing identical cargo capacity to the soft top version.

After 1995, Mazda suffered from a relatively undistinguished product line in the US save the MX-5 Miata.

Rumors suggest that development work on the next generation rotary engine have been given a lower priority and will proceed at a slower pace, due to limited engineering resources and tightening emission regulations, making development of a high performance rotary engine a lower priority compared to the next generation MX-5.

Envisioned as a Mazda MX-5 Miata competitor, the front-wheel drive Capri did not capture the same type of following as the rear-wheel drive Mazda, lasting through 1994.