The first-generation Mazda Miata is a car you often find thrashed and trashed from a hard life with multiple owners. This super clean Sunburst Yellow 1992 Mazda Miata for auction on Bring a Trailer is like a time capsule back to the early 1990s.
Miata fans looking for something not peppered in rust holes are spoiled for choice. There are a surprising number of squeaky clean, low mileage Miatas for sale on the web right now. There are a few over at Bring a Trailer and even one with a mere 18,000 miles on Craigslist, of all places. I’ll admit that I’ve been looking for a Miata lately to try something different than my normal German fare. One car stuck out in the field and it’s this gorgeous Miata painted in a rare Sunburst Yellow hue.
The words “rare” and “Miata” don’t tend to go together as the cars are just about everywhere. But in this case it’s no exaggeration. Mazda made only 1,519 examples in Sunburst Yellow and not all of them have aged nearly as gracefully as this one.
Part of this Miata’s great condition comes down to spending much of its life in Florida with its original owner, accumulating only 42,000 miles in its 29 years on the road. The dealer selling the car picked it up a couple of months ago and is ready to send it to a new home.
In addition to the low mileage on the odometer and the popping yellow paint, the buyer gets the car’s window sticker, owner’s manual and a clean title. The most mind-blowing part for me is seeing such a perfect-looking convertible top on an old car.
The interior is equally impressive. Save for some minor seat wear, if you told me that this car rolled off of the assembly line yesterday I’d probably believe you.
A 1.6-liter inline-four brings 116 HP of fun and puts it through a five-speed manual transmission connected to the rear wheels. That engine bay looks so good that you could eat dinner right off of the rocker cover.
The car is said to have spent some of its life in Illinois. The state I call my home is known for taking Miatas and rotting them out until they have see-through panels, but this one looks as though it has escaped rot-free. It doesn’t even look like this car was driven in the winter at all.
This car is like a time capsule straight back to the early 1990s. It makes me want to cruise top-down next to the beach blaring some 2Pac, Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
This car doesn’t need any mods; drive it and enjoy the car as it is. The price isn’t too bad either. It’s currently bidding at $10,500 with about 18 hours to go on Bring a Trailer.