The MX-5 Mazdaspeed Miata That Was Killed By A Factory Fire

By Gilbert Smith

Not every scarce vehicle was intended to be all that scarce. The Mazdaspeed Miata, for instance, was intended as an ongoing performance model, with Mazda producing 4,000 of these Miatas for the American market in 2004. Unfortunately, a fire at Mazda's Hiroshima, Japan plant, where the Mazdaspeed MX-5 was being produced, saw the 2025 run consisting of just 1,428 NA-spec Mazdaspeed Miatas, accidentally producing a sort of limited-edition MX-5.

It's unclear exactly how many Mazdaspeed Miatas were initially intended to be built, but Mazda has never struggled to find buyers for its affordable roadster, having sold nearly 10,000 units in the US in 2005 alone. So, it's difficult to imagine an improved version of the car having been anything but a success, had it been given the chance to really spread its wings. Here's what Miata fans are missing out on thanks to the factory fire.

A Look At The Mazdaspeed Miata

The Mazdaspeed Miata wasn't just a flashier version of the Miata with new exhaust tips and cool badging. The sporty new iteration offered a noticeable performance upgrade over the standard model by way of a turbocharger, with some sources citing 0-60 mph speeds nearly a full second ahead of the standard MX-5.

Mazdaspeed's version of the roadster was quicker off the starting line, and it felt sportier, too, featuring Bilstein shock absorbers, wider tires, and an upgraded transmission with more durable alloy components. You'll know the difference as soon as you take the car around a corner, as the Mazdaspeed version of the car offers more responsive handling, and improved traction thanks in part to a limited slip-differential. The Mazdaspeed didn't just offer a few extra horses for bragging rights, it delivered on fun, too.

Mazdaspeed didn't go overboard in redesigning the car, but the more aggressive front and rear air dams, the sporty spoiler, and the red-stitched interior advertise its competitive spirit, while the turbo lends the Mazda a more aggressive roar. Check out the takeoff, courtesy of @0to60vidsusa4 via YouTube, to hear what we mean.

So, this car looked the part, it sounded the part, and, most importantly, it felt the part, and it could put its money where its mouth was. The car started at an MSRP of around $26,000 for the 2004 model year, which, even subtracting two decades of inflation, was a very attractive price for a 178-horse sports coupe. What we're saying is that there's no way this car wouldn't have been a major hit had tragedy not struck.

A Fire In Late 2004 Cost Us A Whole Run Of Mazdaspeed Miatas

Worldwide estimates for the 2005 Mazdaspeed Miata are estimated at somewhere around 1,560 units produced, with 1,428 of these cars being for the US market. 2004 produced 4,000 units for North America, suggesting that Mazda likely aimed for a similar production run for the 2005 model year. These plans were brought to a screeching halt by a fire at Mazda Ujina No 1 Plant's paint shop in Hiroshima, raging from December 15 to 16, 2004.

According to official reports, the plant's fire brigade was quick on the scene, followed shortly by 21 trucks and a pair of ambulances, but the fire continued to burn for several hours before Mazda's fire team and Hiroshima's first-responders could put it out. Mazda's own investigation turned up an electrostatic discharge in a small-capacity paint mixer as the most probable cause of the fire.

It wasn't just Mazdaspeed Miatas that we lost thanks to the fire. The Ujina No 1 Plant produced around 1,000 units a day, and was tasked with building MPV family vans, RX-8s, and Mazda 2s, among other models.

Mazda Recovered Quickly, But The Mazdaspeed Miata Was Immediately Discontinued

The plant was brought back to working order very quickly. The fire broke out in mid-December, 2004, and, by January 6, 2005, Mazda was rolling Mazda 2s off the factory floor once again, sending them to Ujina No. 2 for painting. But, by the end of the month, Mazda was announcing the discontinuation of the Mazdaspeed Miata.

The Ujina No 1 plant would go on to produce more Miatas, but, by the time Mazda was ready to roll, they had already retooled the plant for the NC generation Miatas, which ran from the 2006-2015 model years here in the US. Rebuilding the NB Mazdaspeed Miata assembly line when the automaker was already gearing up a new generation just didn't make a lot of sense, regardless of the model's popularity, so the performance model was instead granted an early retirement.

All told, the fire cost Mazda around 30,000 units planned to be built across all affected nameplates.

What Will A Mazdaspeed Miata Cost You In 2025?

If we take a look at the Kelley Blue Book fair purchase pricing for 2004 and 2005 Miatas, including both the entry-level and performance models, here's what we get.

According to these numbers, you're going to be spending somewhere around $3,000 more for a Mazdaspeed Miata than you would for an entry-level MX-5 from the same model year, with the rarer 2005 model seeing a slightly wider margin.

You're going to see a price disparity with a used performance model whether or not a production run was cut short by a factory fire. But, $11,154 for a 20-year-old Miata, assuming around 15,000 miles on the odometer each year, does seem a bit high, and we have no doubt that that has something to do with the car's relative scarcity.

Sources: Mazda, MSM Registry, AutoTempest, Kelley Blue Book.

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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.