Mazda PH turns over 30th Anniversary MX-5 to first 10 owners

ORANGE — it’s frequently associated with feelings of joy, enthusiasm, creativity and fascination. All the emotions of which were experienced by a tight crowd of attendees of Mazda Philippines’ official 30th Anniversary Limited Edition MX-5 turnover ceremony held right across the Mazda Premium Experience event premises along Bonifacio High Street in BGC last Sunday morning.

The super-rare P2.99-M bright orangepainted 30th Anniversary MX-5s that were turned over are 10 of only 3,000 units in the entire world. And fortunately, Filipinos will have access to 20 more, as Mazda Philippines has been able to secure an allocation total of 30 units (one percent of the global supply) for our small country.

“But how on earth are we so privileged?” you might ask. Well, the answer is both amusing and straightforward. The Philippines, you see, is home to the highest population of Miatas in all of Asia, outside of its motherland Japan. I would dare even add that the Philippines is also home to one of the tightest, most passionate Miata Clubs in Asia — the Miata Club of the Philippines.

As a matter of fact, that’s the very reason why they had a handsome display of different generations of Miata positioned around and about the turnover ceremony area — it was because their Miata Club brothers were so excited for the new, lucky owners of the 30th Anniversary Edition units, that they just wanted to cheer on and show some support.

As you may have imagined, most of the first 10 awarded owners are already bonafide members of the Miata Club of the Philippines — meaning, that this is definitely not the first Miata they owned. And as I overheard mumbles of stories of how this new unit is already the “nth” Miata in this person’s garage, and how that other person sold two of his older Miatas in order to afford buying this one, or how a particular lady flew straight from Sydney to Manila that day and came straight from the airport to BGC just to be present for this turnover ceremony — it all really came down to one thing: these people are crazy for Miatas, and their energy is absolutely contagious.

Gracing the special event was no less than “The Father of the Miata,” Californiabased Japanese designer Tom “Tsutomu” Matano, who was the genius behind designing the world’s bestselling roadster.

In a gracious effort typical of Mazda Philippines president and CEO Steven Tan, the guy drove up every single unit to the turnover stage himself, to introduce each one to its new owners. This first batch was a mix of (dominantly) automatic and manual transmissions, that all came in units of RF form. I also learned that upon the eventual arrival of the other 20 units, there will also be units among them that will be delivered to owners outside of Luzon, such as in Cebu and Mindanao.

Leading the pack of ecstatic new owners of the 30th Anniversary Edition MX-5 was outgoing Miata Club PH president Jose Luis Yulo and his wife. The other nine new and proud owners were Digna Lacuanan, Evelyn Sy Qui, Herby Consuji, Giles Puno, Benneth Thelmo, Jan Vincent Kieruf, Kenneth Caco, Edwin Tan Figuracion, and Emmanuel Jesus Pabustan, Jr. And you read that right — some of them are female owners. (Of course many of the remaining male buyers also bought it with the blessing of their wives.)

Now the last remaining question to this story is whether there is still any chance for anyone to nab a unit for himself/herself, if he/she hadn’t placed an early reservation? Frankly, nothing is impossible. But the chances truly are low. There must already be a significantly long waitlist. Perhaps you should stay tuned for a possible 35th anniversary edition?

Should you decide to purchase a pre-loved Miata or currentgen MX-5, consider joining the Miata Club of the Philippines. You can find out more about this starry-eyed bunch who like to travel the world together (yes, they really do!) by visiting their Facebook page Miata Club Philippines.