Mazda is celebrating turning 100 years old by releasing a series of special edition models. They cover near enough the entirety of Mazda’s model lineup, though not all are available in the UKI – and as ever the MX-5 is the most interesting one.
Each 100th Anniversary Edition comes with a white paint and a contrasting burgundy interior for a “two-tone” look, inspired by Mazda’s first car, the R360 coupe. Unveiled in 1960, the R360 only had 16hp from its rear-mounted v-twin engine, but was so small and light that it could reach 50mph.
Mazda was effectively established 40 years before that as a cork manufacturer based in Hiroshima called Toyo Cork Koygo Co. In 1931 the company went off-brand and launched the Mazda-go tricycle truck, and every subsequent vehicle the company made bore the Mazda moniker – though it wasn’t officially adopted as the company name until 1984.
Today’s 100th Anniversary special editions come painted in Snowflake White pearlescent and with an abundance of burgundy for the interior, including the carpets and leather upholstery. Every model gets a ‘100th Anniversary’ logo on the floor mats, on the key and embossed into the headrests, as well as on the alloy wheel centre caps. The 100th Anniversary MX-5 also gets a red roof.
These models were due to be unveiled officially at the Geneva Motor Show in March, which was of course cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis. Despite being available on a wide range of Mazda cars in various markets, the UK will only get the MX-5 Convertible, CX-30 and Mazda3 models with the 100th Anniversary treatment. And only 100 copies of each.
No prices yet but expect them to be at the top end of their respective model ranges – announcement due later this year. Mazda is currently “considering” whether to release 100th Anniversary versions of the Mazda6 and CX-5 in the UK.
Mazda UK Managing Director, Jeremy Thomson, said: “We’ll be proud to have special versions of the MX-5 Convertible, CX-30 and Mazda3 in our UK showrooms later this year. UK buyers have always loved special edition MX-5s so I’m sure that with its distinctive cherry roof and burgundy interior, the 100th Anniversary Special Edition Convertible will be very popular, while the first opportunity to have distinctive limited-edition versions of our latest cars: the Mazda3 and Mazda CX-30 is equally exciting.”
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