Guinness World Record Holding Roadster Needs to Update Miata Status
What's the number one selling roadster of all time? Possibly it's an MGB? Or then again, what about Triumph's Spitfire and TR6? Maybe it's one of the Italians from bygone days, such as a Fiat or Alfa Romeo spyder?
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| For the last fifteen or so years Mazda's MX-5 Miata has held the title of most popular roadster. (Photo: Mazda Canada) |
No, just as it's been for the last fifteen or so years Mazda's MX-5 Miata holds title to this enviable claim. The Japanese automaker's bold move to enter an abandoned market paid off initially, and while the car's initial hysteria has all but completely faded away the car still has a loyal following.
Now future rivals will soon attempt to knock the Miata off of its pedestal, one being Pontiac's forthcoming Solstice roadster, but it will be some time before any opponents can boast of 700,000 total sales.
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| A MazdaSpeed version was officially the 700,000th Miata to roll off of Mazda's Ujina No. 1 plant assembly line. (Photo: Mazda Canada) |
The production number was reached earlier this month on March 5, when the 700,000th Miata rolled off of Mazda's Ujina No. 1 plant assembly line, a facility close to the Japanese brand's headquarters in Hiroshima. It only took Mazda fourteen years and eleven months from the introduction of the original Miata in April of 1989 to achieve what the car's initiators no doubt would have considered inconceivable at the time.
And the vehicle to mark the occasion wasn't just any Miata, but one of the new MazdaSpeed versions sporting a 178-hp 1.8-liter turbocharged engine. The celebratory car was previously recognized in May of 2000 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's top-selling 2-seat roadster at its cumulative production volume of 500,000 units. Now Mazda hopes to have Guinness update its record to the new level.