I've always loved convertibles and the MX-5 is arguably one of the most successful convertible sports cars ever built. It seems unbelievable that since it’s unveiling in 1989, the MX-5 has sold in excess of one million units. Inspired by classic British roadsters, the MX-5 has always been a lightweight sports car that’s designed to deliver pure driving enjoyment. This is largely due to Mazda’s design philosophy Jinba Ittai, which is often translated into English as “Horse and rider.” If you spend a little time studying Japanese, you’ll quickly discover it’s a reasonably complex language and translations are never as straight forward as you might think. To simply translate Jinba Ittai as Horse and Rider, misses the power that embodies the phrase until you focus on the connection between the horse and rider. When they act together as a single harmonious unit as we’ve witnessed so often in Olympic Equestrian events, that’s where the magic happens. This is the essence of the design philosophy Mazda has successfully sought to place into the core DNA of the MX-5 over a 30 year period.
You only have to get behind the wheel of an MX-5 and drive a familiar stretch of country road to understand the care put into every stage of the car’s design. Before long you’ll probably become a fan; with over a million units sold, you wouldn’t be alone.
Despite four different major design changes/ facelifts over the years the Mazda MX-5 is still as popular as ever. It has seen off most of its rivals who simply couldn’t compete with its popularity, possibly because they didn’t embody its core principles. For example, Mazda could have built all kinds of electronic wizardry into the Mk4 MX-5, but they didn’t. They kept things simple, which when you’ve successfully created a great product doesn’t need enhancing with umpteen bells and whistles which is where I suspect their rivals went wrong.
When Jeremy Clarkson reviewed the car back in May 2016 he commented “…this is a lovely little car to drive. Because it’s so organic and raw and simple, it feels how a sports car should. It sings and fizzes and jumps about. It always feels eager and sprightly, and that makes you feel eager and sprightly too. It’s a cure for depression, this car, it really is. You just can’t be in a bad mood when you’re driving it.”
Indeed, it’s my love of my Mk4 MX-5 that led me to create this website, where I can share with you the modifications I’ve made; each of which has taken a lot of thought. Tracking down and selecting aftermarket parts and accessories can be more challenging than you might think. So, with that in mind alongside the details of each modification I’ve also included a list of parts and suppliers used. I guess they’re a little tricky to track down due to there not being a single place that specifically lists all the available aftermarket parts for a Mk4 'ND' MX-5, especially when a number of key suppliers all seem to offer similar selections. Discovering other suppliers with alternative parts can quickly become quite time-consuming.
In addition to cataloguing the modification I’ve made, I’ve also been keeping a keen eye on the Mk4 'ND' Special Editions Mazda has released in the UK, which I’ve listed here too, along with a gallery of photos and a PDF copy of the original sales brochures.
I hope you find my blog useful and would ask you to remember that it is at its core a hobbyist/enthusiast site, and no infringement of any trademarks or copyright is intended.
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