America’s hot-rod tradition of shoehorning a big motor in a small car continues in Mazda’s beloved roadster.
Unleashed in 1989 as a reliable and modernized interpretation of the 1967–1975 Lotus Elan, Mazda’s Miata roadster entered an automotive environment filled with front-drive econoboxes and floppy convertibles. A bold gamble at the time, perhaps, but it worked sensationally, and total