The Mazda Miata –or MX-5 as it was called in Europe- was the beginning of a new generation of affordable motoring. The Japanese capitalised on the fact that small, affordable and simple British-style sports cars were becoming a thing of the past.

The Miata simply dominated the world of petite & nimble roadsters for more than a decade to follow but was arguably overtaken by the Honda S2000 at the turn of the century.