Driving A One of 643 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition
2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata 30th Anniversary Edition Jake Stumph DriveBreakFixRepeat
Mazda says the car represents "30 years of endless gratitude" to the enthusiastic fans of the Miata.
It is also orange, very, very orange. Mazda calls it Racing Orange and not only is the exterior of this special 30th Anniversary Edition Miata adorned in it, but so, too, are the big brake calipers and the interior trimming.
Said interior gets a blend of leather, alcantara and a pair of ubiquitous Recaro buckets, because this 30AE, as the fans call it, is bundled with pretty much every option normally available for Mazda’s venerable roadster.
That also means it’s based on the Club model with the Brembo brakes, Recaro seats, Bilstein dampers and a limited-slip differential. Normally, there’s a BBS wheel upgrade thrown in the mix, too, but those have, instead, been thrown out for something a bit more juicy. This 30AE features forged Volk Racing ZE40 wheels, which look epic paired up the ND Miata. The 30AE is priced from $35,915 for the soft top and $2,600 more for the folding hard top RF model. That represents premiums of $960 and just $10 for each model.
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Mechanically, it’s identical to a regular Miata Club, which is a good thing. The 2.0-liter, 181 horsepower inline-four engine is as sweet as ever, especially when paired with the obligatory 6-speed manual transmission. Sure, an automatic is available, but don’t you dare. The 6-speed stick is perfection — easy to drive but very still rewarding to drive right.
Hustling this 30AE through the corners of Malibu is a reminder as to why Mazda has sold over one million Miatas in the past 30 years. The handling is sublime. The Miata feels agile and on its toes, with just a hint of an oversteer bias, allowing the back end to step out playfully in perfectly-controlled little second gear slides around every corner. The suspension is relatively soft, allowing a fair amount of body roll, but also an incredible sense of being able to take on the rough canyon roads with ease while pushing it, and feeling the sensation of speed.
Of course, being a 181 horsepower sports car that’s the size of a gnat the sensation of speed doesn’t happen at triple digit numbers. Instead, the Miata’s joyous playfulness results in a car that feels more fun at 30 mph than most other sports cars do at 100 mph.
Mazda originally brought in 500 examples of the 30th Anniversary Edition Miata to the United States, but sold all of them in just over four hours. The company later managed to snag another 143 units for the U.S. market, bringing the grand total to 643 out of 3,000 built worldwide. But, if you can manage to find one of these ultra-rare Mexican fire opals, buy it, and don’t think twice. The Mazda Miata has been, and continues to be, one of the best sports cars money can buy.
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