What you are looking at here is a 1997 "R package" Miata, one of the rarest Miatas ever made.   Extremely clean car, as I hope the photos convey.  'One' of 47 R's produced in the final year, and 'One' of 17 in red.   The rest were either black or white.  R pkgs were made for only 4 model years, fewer and fewer each year.  There is a fair chance you could go the rest of your days not seeing another 97R in person.  Production totals as follows:

1994:  1,218

1995:  465

1996:  111

1997:  47

How many remain?    R package cars all have manual steering, beefier antiroll bars, Torsen LSD, tweaked steering geometry, front air dam, rear lip spoiler and rear underbody skirt.   Manual windows and locks.   Manual everything except brakes.  The only option was A/C, which this car has, and it works.  Stiffer Bilstein shocks were also included from the factory, but this car has a new Meister-R coilover suspension professionally installed and aligned.   The ride and handling is much improved.   I still have the Bilsteins if desired, you are welcome to have them.  I purchased this car from the very first owner, now in his 80s.    Adult ownership only and garaged.   

Other additions include:  factory Hardtop including the additional side strikers, Hard Dog rollbar (very sanitary install), upgraded aluminum radiator, Mishimoto hoses, Clifford antitheft system (works), Cipher leather steering wheel (flat bottom, much nicer feel/grip, red stitching, retains OE airbag), upgraded speakers, Magnaflow exhaust which has a great sound but is not overly loud, oil pressure gauge made fully functional (from the factory it functioned more like a Yes/No and gave no useful reading), OE rear defrost switch added for the Hardtop, air intake headlight cover, a LOUDER horn, front corner lights made to light up like in JDM versions ("Twilights").  I do have the original RED headlight covers if desired.   Two sets of keys.  No dash cracks.   No front plate 'dimples'.    There is NO RUST on this car, and no door dings.   Runs and shifts exactly like new.   No leaks.   Never runs hot.  I would not hesitate to drive this car across 10 states tomorrow, it is 100% trustworthy.    The 16" five-spoke alloy wheels in the pics are new, as are the Toyo Extensa tires.  A couple of the pictures show the lightweight 15" BBS alloys that I also have (also with new tires, BFG Comps), and you can choose which set of wheels you want.   I no longer have the black wheels shown in some of the pics.   The price is $16,975 or $15,250 if I keep the Hardtop for my other Miata.  Buyer is of course responsible for shipping costs and arrangements.  Thank you for looking.