5 Awesome Mazda MX-5s At This Year’s Hillsborough Councours Event
Key Takeaways
- Tom Matano, father of the Mazda MX-5, showcased some of his R&D project cars at the 2024 Hillsborough Concours event, impressing attendees.
- A rare base model 1989 Miata with just 7,000 miles on the clock was showcased, well-maintained and sought after by enthusiasts.
- Attendees were intrigued by a supercharged 1990 Miata and a mysterious NB Miata at the event, showcasing the love for these classic cars.
Tom Matano is a legend in the automotive world as the father of the Mazda MX-5 – much like Zachary “Zora” Arkus-Duntov and the Corvette. Of course, other important names were as important, like Bob Hall, Kenichi Yamamoto, and now Dave Coleman, but Matano carried the ball in head design positions from the MX-5’s first production models until he retired from Mazda in 2002. So, when Matano called Mazda to tell the brand he was a judge at the 2024 Hillsborough Concours d’Eegance event in Northern California and asked if they could bring some of his “babies” from the R&D department, the answer was, of course, yes.
Matano was delighted to see his beloved R&D project cars again and happy to talk with anyone about all things MX-5 – but those weren’t the only cool MX-5s on display in the sea of automotive delight that Hillsborough Concours organizes. These are five of the coolest MX-5s that caught our eye.
1989 Mazda MX-5 Club Racer Concept
When Mazda debuted the MX-5 at the Chicago Auto Show in 1989, alongside the original red, white, and blue models, this concept was based on Kensai Motorsport style builds of the time. Based on a pre-production car, the Club Racer concept has wider bodywork with custom bumpers and lights, sits on lower suspension, and on color-matched 15-inch Panasport wheels. Inside, there’s a custom gauge cluster along with more gauges replacing the radio unit, and Momo Monte Carlo steering wheel.
However, the Club Racer concept didn’t start its life in the vibrant yellow it’s painted now. It was used as a test bed for developing the Miata’s original Classic Red and Mariner Blue*. According to Tom Matano, the Mariner Blue took two years to develop, with the process hinging on finding a shade the design team liked that was hard wearing, easy enough to replicate for production, and easy enough to color match for body shops. This vivid shade of yellow became the inspiration for later MX-5 generation’s Sunburst Yellow.
*Fun fact: The reason the first cars came in red, white, or blue paint was neither a nod to the British sports cars that inspired it nor the country in which it was born. It was a nod to the Californian license plate colors, as that’s largely where the MX-5 was conceived.
Mint Condition Base Model 1989 MX-5 Miata
Finding an unmolested first-generation (NA) Miata is a rarity here in 2024, but MX-5 enthusiast Vince Malta found not just an unmodified version, but he also found the Holy Grail. This example was bought new as a base model in 1989 by an owner who hardly drove it yet was obsessed over maintenance and storage.
Related
First-Gen Mazda MX-5 Miata: Pop-Up Headlights And 9 Other Features That Made It Legendary
From its timeless design to its robust mechanicals and spirited handling, there’s a lot to love about the first Miata.
Vince tells us he bought the Miata with just 7,000 miles on the clock, and the first owner changed the oil every 500 miles it was driven. Now, that would be a tough claim to swallow, but Vince took great delight in pulling the dipstick and showing us that the oil was absolutely clear. “The first time I checked,” he said, “I thought there was no oil in the engine.” As a base model, it doesn’t have air conditioning or power conditioning and sits on steel wheels.
Vince told us how much he paid for it, but we won’t repeat it publicly. Suffice to say, it was surprisingly reasonable for something that is so sought after right now with the whole Rad nostalgia movement going on.
The Dan Edmunds Road Racing Miata
Mazda has the original Miatas that debuted in 1989. They all traveled the country for publicity, but the white one had the hardest life. Somehow, automotive journalist Dan Edmunds got hold of the white one and took it racing in the SCCA Showroom Stock class. It had already seen track time in 1989 at a driving school, but had to be a year old to qualify, and it ran its first races in anger in 1991.
For Showroom Stock, the roof couldn’t be fabric, but the only hardtops at the time were on red cars, so the white Miata ran with a red roof until white ones became a factory option later in the year. Edmunds secured the Miata’s first racing victory in North America at Willow Springs in its third race, and took two seconds off the lap record, sparking controversy about its classification.
After a couple of seasons, Edmunds retired the Miata until he got the bug to go rallying and took a long, hard look at the rule book. Hilariously, he got it entered into the California Rally Series in the Performance Stock class.
I wasn’t really sure how it was going to work, because no one had done this before. It was an experiment, really, so I didn’t want to spend too much money on it until after I tested the waters. Besides, I’d never raced on dirt before, either.
– Dan Edmunds, Automotive Journalist and MX-5 Owner
After being laughed at when turning up, Edmunds and the ex-road racing Miata brought home two first-place trophies – one for rallycross and the other for rallysprint. He went on to win the P-Stock championship.
Shirley & Ken Christensen’s Supercharged 1990 Miata
Tucked away at the back of the Concours event was a little paddock of enthusiast cars, including a tastefully modified little gem. We couldn’t find Shirley and Ken Christensen late in the day after we found it, but we do have some information. The couple have been driving this Miata since Ken bought it new in 1990 after a test drive, and now has over 160,000 miles on the clock. The modifications they’ve invested in include a Sebring supercharger, an aluminum flywheel, blueprinted fuel injectors, and new suspension.
Over 34 years, the list of event destinations the couple have taken the supercharged Miata to is extensive, to say the least, and involves autocross, famous race tracks, poker runs, bug hunts, and more.
Mysterious NB Miata
This mysterious second-generation (NB) Miata appeared next to Mazda’s display, but we didn’t get to speak to the owner, and all we could find out through Mazda was that it showed up and is owned by a member of the Bay Area Miata Association. It caught our attention, though, as there wasn’t a big showing for the NB generation, and this one was in amazing conditioning and in the correct colors – British Racing Green with a tan interior.
Related
Ranking Every Mazda MX-5 Miata Generation From Worst To Best
Prepare the pitchforks and torches because not everyone will be happy with our choices.
Wrapping Up
The Hillsborough Concours featured the usual roster of crazy expensive and super rare collector’s pieces. But if you’re like us, we also loved seeing more modern and relatable classics on the fringes and some being recognized with trophies. You don’t see Series I Land Rovers often in the US, let alone a 101 Forward Control.
Related
Mazda MX-5 Miata Extends Lead As World’s Best-Selling Sports With Demand Stronger Than Ever
Despite being on sale for nearly a decade, the fourth-gen Miata is selling even quicker than the third.
Also on show was a minty fresh Datsun 270Z, an unmolested E36 BMW M3, and some glorious 1970s and 1980s Rolls-Royce models. The really interesting thing was that Mazda Miatas are starting to show up as collector’s items, and they have garnered a lot of attention.
It’s the start of a new era of classic cars, and the best thing is that the stories of the 1990s cars are well-documented in both the written word as well as in photographs and video. Hopefully, it helps maintain the interest in the history of cars as we move further into the new technical era of hybrid then all-electric cars.
