1990 Mazda Mx-5 Miata Sunkist Orange Factory-painted Color Test Car on 2040-cars
Cambria, California, United States
One in a Million: 1990 Mazda Miata Bright Orange Factory Color Test Car Truly one of a kind! To date, Mazda has produced approximately 960,000 Miata (MX5/Eunos) sports cars. Of this nearly-a-million quantity, this car is the only bright orange first-series (“NA”) Miata produced and sold by the factory. It’s one of the original Mazda Miata “Color Cars” that were selected by Mazda from the assembly line in 1990 to be painted alternate paint colors as full-scale marketing study for potential production. Viewing was held at the courtyard of Mazda North America HQ in southern California. There were six Miata color cars in all. The six colors were: • Raspberry Metallic The Light Green and Raspberry cars are now considered lost, so only the remaining four cars exist, and are all in long-term ownership. Two pictures from the original viewing of the Color Cars at Mazda in California are shown with this listing. On the window sticker, in the block "Color of Your New Mazda" it says "Various Test Colors". All six color cars received an "X1" for the color code, and the special color status is also noted on the original window sticker (which I have, along with many other records). These six special cars were removed from the assembly line and painted at the factory in Japan. The cars were painted completely so that the color is under the hood, inside the trunk and under the carpets. The color cars were then returned to the assembly line for completion and shipped to the Mazda design studio in Irvine, California for viewing. Sunkist (the orange car) spent some 14 months at the Design Center and accumulated about 1,400 miles. When they were finished with the cars, the Design Center offered them for sale to employees, and most were bought by employees or their friends. The orange car is an A-package car (power steering, leather-wrapped steering wheel, AM-FM cassette radio) with air conditioning. The Sunkist-orange car is perhaps the most famous of the six Color Cars, The paint is highly distinctive: bright-orange and very close to Lamborghini Miura orange. One of the Miata’s designers owned a Miura in that color, which is how it happened. A full history of the Color Cars (as written by others) is included at the end of this description. Here’s a link to the full set of (at least) 138 photographs: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYsm7dq0YsWLGig (Interior photos in the linked set are not too good so far– after I vacuum, clean, and re-photograph the interior and seats, new pictures will be added to the Shutterfly set and will be available using the link above. The interior’s actually in great original condition, with custom floor mats having the “Miata” logo stitched in orange) General Notes:
Cool Stuff:
Why You Should Buy This Car:
General Terms of Sale: General Terms: Sale of this car is strictly as is, where is – FOB our driveway in Cambria, California. It’s approximately 34 miles north of San Luis Obispo, at the southernmost end of the Big Sur Coast, and is an excellent place from which to either drive home or up the coast to Monterey/Laguna Seca and points north. Domestic Buyers: Following payment in full and transfer of the car to you, I’ll be happy to co-ordinate loading of the car with your car hauler if you prefer to ship by truck. An enclosed van is highly recommended to prevent damage or vandalism. I can also deliver to Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, or the Northwest in exchange for delivery (gas/hotel/food) and return (air) expenses. (NOTE: This can include delivery for “Car Week” [Barret-Jackson, etc.] in January, so you’ll have the car to use or re-sell). The extra set of wheels will probably need to be shipped separately if the car is driven to you, and that would be at your expense also. Overseas Buyers: Your purchase of the car is also welcomed. For overseas buyers, I will drive the car to your customs broker or point of embarkation at either Los Angeles or San Francisco. I can also deliver Sunkist to either Portland (OR) or Seattle if the return airline flight expenses and other expenses (gas/hotel/food) are prepaid. After the car is delivered to your shipping point, all further costs for brokerage, customs, insurance, and shipping are your responsibility. Payment: Following purchase, a non-refundable downpayment is to be made, using Paypal, within the time specified in this listing. The balance due for purchase of the car is to be paid within 14 calendar days of the close of the listing, and is to be paid by cash in hand, fully-cleared personal check, or by bank wire transfer. No cashier’s checks accepted, because of the potential for fraud – even if you actually are the Prince of Nigeria. Thanks very much for your interest – Here’s more background on the NA Color Cars:
THE RAREST MIATAS: THE 'COLOR CARS' Compiled by John Emerson IntroductionThere were six Miata "color" cars produced in 1990. Three were “A package” cars and three had “B package”, all with air conditioning. The colors were:
On the window sticker, in the block "Color of Your New Mazda" it says "Various Test Colors". All six cars have an "X" for the color code. The MSRP on Sunkist was $15,999.00 for an A package with air conditioning. These six cars were removed from the assembly line and painted at the factory. The cars were painted completely so that the color is under the hood, inside the trunk and under the carpets. They were not painted some other color first. They were returned to the assembly line for completion and then shipped to the Mazda design studio in Irvine, California. The Irvine Design Center used them to evaluate new colors for future Miatas and MX-3s. Sunkist (the orange car) spent some 14 months at the Design Center and accumulated about 1,400 miles. She was slightly damaged on the left rear fender; it was fixed and the fender repainted. Bob Hall and Mark Jordan recalled the damage but couldn't remember what caused it or how bad it was. When they were finished with the cars, the Design Center offered them for sale to employees, and most were bought by employees or their friends. Notes by Skip Cannon (2nd owner):The first private owner of Sunkist was Stu Schaller. He is a free-lance automotive researcher/journalist who already had owned a silver Miata. He was also one of the people who started an LA area Miata club called GLAMOR (Greater Los Angeles Miata Owners R***). I heard it was later absorbed into the SOCALM chapter. Schaller advertised Sunkist for sale in The Recycler, an LA area classified newspaper. Not knowing about the color cars, I almost didn't call, thinking orange might be a bad color for a Miata. I also suspected that the car might have been wrecked and repainted. Fortunately, I did call and he brought the car to JPL, where I worked, during my lunch hour. I checked the car out and he told me some of the history of the six color cars and showed me copies of Miata Club of America magazine articles to verify his story. I bought the car on the spot for $9,000, a real bargain at the time. Sunkist had 14,000 miles on her by then and she was incredibly dirty. His girlfriend had been using the Miata to haul hay to her horse down a long dirt road. The paint looked a little faded, but a cleaner and wax job brought it back. An Insider's View of the Color CarsWhat follows comes from an interview of Bob Hall, a member of the original Miata team at Mazda, by Miata enthusiast (and creator of the VOODOO shift knobs) Bob Krueger. Mas Kato, Bob Hall's brother-in-law, has owned one of the color cars, the teal Miata, almost since it was first sold by Mazda at Irvine (Bob and his wife, Mas' sister, owned it first for a short time). The following is a paraphrase of the 1997 interview of Bob Hall: "NONE of the colors had a 'name'. per se. The closest thing to a name was the mix code for the color, and the only way that you'd know what that was would be to look at the tin of paint supplied with each car. Mas' teal car was 'named' H4143 (rolls off the tongue real easy, doesn't it?). Since I didn't see the other cars' cans of paint, I can't tell you the 'names'. "Here's how we referred to the colors when we described them to people who'd never seen them. The orange car was referred to as 'orange' or, occasionally, 'Miura orange' (after the Lamborghini of the same name, because the color was close to the orange seen on early Miuras); the teal car as 'teal'; the dark metallic blue one we called 'electric blue'; the purple/magenta was referred to as 'raspberry'; the pale metallic green we all called 'ice green' (using the name of a similar color used on some 911s -- made it easier for people in the paint business to understand the shade -- like the orange); and the metallic pastel yellow we called 'pukey'. Well, aside from being referred to once or twice as 'metallic pus', we usually called it 'pale yellow metallic', mainly to avoid confusion with the limited edition yellow (1991 Sunburst Yellow prototype –ed.) that was being prepared at the same time. "Regarding manufacture, I think they were all done in late 1990 or early 1991. There was the space of about three weeks between the first one and the last one, and the yellow car was repainted once before it was put on the boat (it arrived as a 'two-tone' - the front and rear bumpers had darkened noticeably by the time the cars arrived at MRA.) "What's not widely known is that the six color Miatas were part of a larger color study that included some 323 hatchbacks in a few really bizarre shades...two or three that were even more 'out there' than the six color Miatas." |
Mazda MX-5 Miata for Sale
Repo no reserve new roof roadster needs buyer s2000 z3 z4 tt mr2
47k one 1 owner miles 2007 mazda mx-5 miata convertible grand touring manual
1991 mazda miata base convertible 2-door 1.6l
13 white pearl 2l i4 manual:5-speed convertible sport *one owner *low miles *fl
2011 grand touring hardtop 6-speed bose audio leather(US $22,000.00)
1996 mazda mx-5 m-edition - low miles!!(US $3,995.00)
Auto Services in California
Zip Auto Glass Repair ★★★★★
Z D Motorsports ★★★★★
Young Automotive ★★★★★
XACT WINDOW TINTING & 3M CLEAR BRA PAINT PROTECTION ★★★★★
Woodland Hills Honda ★★★★★
West Valley Machine Shop ★★★★★
Auto blog
Will the new Mazda Miata be available with multiple engines?
Mon, 01 Sep 2014At this point, the countdown until the launch of the all-new, fourth-generation 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata can be measured in hours until its September 3 unveiling as easily as it can in days. With the debut of such a highly anticipated model so close, the rumors about the new sports car are starting to boil over.
We recently heard that the new Miata would likely get a 2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder with a six-speed manual, plus a decent drop in weight compared to the current gen. There's even the rumored possibility of a fastback coupe version sometime in the future.
Now, Australia's GoAuto is adding another dollop of speculation into the mix with the claim that there could be "potentially more engine options," according to Mazda Australia managing director Martin Benders to the website. The more potent option would still be the 2.0-liter Skyactiv with a power bump from its current 167 hp to closer to 200 ponies. The other possible powerplant option would be a 1.5-liter, naturally aspirated four-cylinder taken from the upcoming Mazda2 replacement. This version would also ditch some of the MX-5's more premium features to cut the weight and the price slightly.
2014 Mazda3 breaks cover early, in Euro-spec at least
Wed, 26 Jun 2013We're set to get a closer look at the US-spec 2014 Mazda3 later today, but AutoExpress has the first peek at the machine's European cousin (after initial leaks reportedly came from a Czech outlet). The photos show a compact that's taken plenty of design inspiration from its older sister, the Mazda6. That's excellent news, as the larger car's dynamic front fascia, accentuated fender arches and long nose translate well to the Mazda3. Inside, there are are new and improved material choices, and the longer wheelbase means occupants get to enjoy more room than before. There's also a larger trunk with 12.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity.
Buyers in the EU can get their hands on a 1.5-liter Skyactiv-G gasoline engine with 99 horsepower, though the old 2.0-liter four-cylinder will still be available in either 118 hp or 163 hp configuration. A 2.2-liter diesel tops out the engine choices.
The 2014 Mazda3 is lighter than its predecessor and boasts disk brakes and a multi-link rear suspension on every trim. That means this thing should be fun to shuffle around. Stay tuned for details on the US-spec variant later today, including a lot more images of the good-looking hatch.
2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first in-car observations
Sun, 07 Sep 2014We've had few days to digest the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata since the roadster was first revealed on Wednesday evening when we offered you our first impressions. Since that time, we've gone back and looked at the car a number of times in person here in California, and we've even seen it briefly run under its own power (okay, it was more of a saunter). What we didn't get the chance to do at the reveal, however, was sit inside the car. We've since been able to remedy that, and while we haven't been allowed to drive the new roadster, we do have some initial in-car impressions to share with you.
First, the location and feel of the major controls is quite excellent. The three-spoke steering wheel is an MX-5 specific item - it's not shared with any other Mazda. That's vital, because others would likely be too big in diameter or have the wrong rim thickness. The wheel's redundant controls seem to be well laid out and the airbag boss is very small. The column tilts, but unfortunately and somewhat inexplicably, it still doesn't telescope.
Pedals are well-spaced, and the six-speed manual has the same short throws and positive engagement that we've come to know and love.