The rare British roadster that inspired the Mazda Miata

The Legacy of the Mazda Miata

The Mazda Miata has become an iconic symbol in the automotive world, a model that feels almost essential to the landscape of sports cars. In 2025, it stands out as one of the few affordable, two-seat, drop-top options available for drivers who want a minimal-frills sports car that can be enjoyed both on daily commutes and weekend drives. It's a car that many believe everyone should experience at least once. While there aren't many similar options today, looking back a few decades reveals that such vehicles were once more common.

However, these cars didn't come from Japan. In fact, during that era, there was very little Japanese presence in the automotive market. Instead, it was the British who were producing small and affordable sports cars, and they did so quite effectively. Models like the Triumph TRs, the MG B and C, Jensens, and even larger and more powerful cars like Jaguars and Aston Martins were in production for years. Yet, it was a more delicate model that would later inspire Mazda’s world-dominating Miata.

That model was the Lotus Elan. It was incredibly small, so much so that it made you question whether you could even fit inside. This was no accident, as Colin Chapman's Lotus was all about keeping weight low, and the Elan’s tiny size certainly helped achieve that goal — it weighed just 1,290 pounds.

The Inspiration Behind the Miata

The original Miata had a unique origin story, stemming from the imagination of one man: Bob Hall. An American automotive journalist, Hall had a fascination with the Japanese automotive scene. In the late '70s, he engaged in discussions with Mazda's then-head of research and design, Kenichi Yamamoto. When asked what cars Mazda should focus on in the future, Hall seized the opportunity to express his love for classic British sports cars and the need to revive this segment.

By the 1980s, Hall was given the chance to explore this idea with Mazda, and work on what would eventually become the Miata began. Numerous period photographs of Miata test mules exist, with them sitting alongside British classics like the Triumph Spitfire and MG Midget. However, the Miata's design team, which included notable names such as Masao Yagi and Tom Matano, ultimately settled on a design that closely resembled the lines of the humble Elan.

The original Miata featured a smiling mouth on the front end, a character trait that still exists today, some 36 years after the first generation debuted. Pop-up headlights, similar to those on the Elan, were also included. The rear end's design mirrored that of the Elan as well. These cars weren’t just visually similar; the details under the hood were equally related. Both models used an inline-four engine, transmitted through a manual transmission, and placed power on the rear wheels. Inside, there were two seats, a steering wheel, and not much else — the focus with the Miata has always been on the driving experience.

The Philosophy of "Less Is More"

When buying a car, it's easy to think that more is better. We often desire more power, more space, and more technology. Whatever the feature may be, we want more of it. However, when creating these respective sports cars, both Mazda and Lotus made a conscious decision to embrace the philosophy that less is more. This approach might not work for a modern three-row SUV, where we want more space, power, and tech, but for a happy little sports car for the weekend, it was brilliant.

Lotus perfected this approach in the 1960s with the nimble Elan. Many might assume that power is the key to a perfect sports car, but Colin Chapman proved otherwise by equipping the new sports car with just 105 horsepower from a 1.6-liter twin-cam inline-four cylinder engine. The combination of that small but playful engine, a balanced chassis, and the crucially low curb weight created the perfect recipe for a great sports car. Don’t just take our word for it either: Notable fans of the Lotus Elan include Gordon Murray and ex-McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt, who clearly know a thing or two about what makes a decent British sports car.

Mazda and Bob Hall saw a gap in the American market for a sporty and affordable drop-top experience. Rather than trying to make something bigger, better, and more powerful than the little Lotus that inspired them, they simply mirrored the approach and translated it into a car suitable for the modern age.