What do Saved by the Bell, The Simpsons, the Nintendo Game Boy, and Mazda MX-5 all have in common? They all first took the world be storm in 1989.
If you want to feel old, know that all of the above celebrate their 30th birthday this year. But while the Gameboy and SBTB are considered relics from a past era, and The Simpsons noted by many as a show with its best days behind it, the MX-5 marches on as one of the best in the small sports-car business with over 1 million sales globally to its name.
And to celebrate the fact Mazda have revealed a special edition model for 2019; the (appropriately named) 30th Anniversary Edition.
Appearing both in a 2.0-litre soft-top Roadster and 2.0-litre hard-top RF guise, the 30th Anniversary gains a host of visual upgrades throughout.
It gets exclusive light-weight Rays wheels, orange Brembo brake callipers, orange accents on the hip-hugging Recaro seats, unique badging ... and all of this is wrapped in retina-searing Racing Orange.
Just 3000 of them will be produced globally, with a numbers bias in favour of the Roadster. Just 17 of them are coming to New Zealand; 13 hard-top RF models and five soft-top Roadsters. They're set to arrive in September, while Kiwi pricing has yet to be confirmed.
While yes, this special edition model doesn't come with any changes to the MX-5's drivetrain, it's worth nothing that — as previously reported — that drivetrain has been tweaked for 2019.
There's no turbo, which will get grimaces from the power-hungry and sly grins from those who continue to appreciate natural aspiration. In the absence of spool, drivers get an increase in revs in the 2.0-litre model (it now screams to 7500rpm), and a host of new internals; from the exhaust to the shape and weight of the pistons to the crankshaft. The automatic and manual transmissions have both had their own set of minor changes to suit.
From an output perspective, the result is a 17kW power boost and 5Nm increase in torque with both now sitting at 135kW and 205Nm respectively. The 1.5-litre base unit has had a similar performance lick, too, with a 2kW and 2Nm rise of its own (97kW/152Nm).
New MY19 models with these advancements are available from Kiwi dealerships now. And, for those wanting a bit more oomph, know that an LS-swap is just a few YouTube videos away ...
