Happy 25th anniversary, Mazda Miata

On Feb. 9th, 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show, Mazda unveiled a sports car that would forever change the world of sports cars: the Miata.

Imagine a world without the Mazda Miata -- a cold world, cruel and desolate. Birds would stop singing. The laughter of children would be a forgotten memory. Our sun would wither away into a faint husk of its once-radiant self. Disaster. Worst of all, the streets would be filled with -- to our horror -- hundreds of thousands of Mercury Capris.

We would have no sports cars. Without the Miata, there would be no cheery little two-seat roadster: no Honda S2000, no BMW Z3, no Mercedes-Benz SLK -- no Rover MGF or Fiat Barchetta, for those of you reading overseas. Who knows how the FR-S or BRZ would have turned out, if they even made it through to existence. Bob Lutz would look like a crazy person introducing the Solstice/Sky twins. Stark raving mad, foaming at the mouth about some "sports car" that wasn't a Viper! 900,000 people wouldn't be able to brag about their inclusion in the "Guinness Book of World Records." Legions of weekend warriors from the SCCA Spec Miata class would otherwise stay home, probably picking up gardening as a hobby, and failing at it: the constitution of a race-car driver has no room for green-thumbed patience. There'd be no Playboy MX-5 Cup, no bright and shining high schoolers who make good use of their karting endeavors. Garth Stein would have never written "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Corky Romano would have nothing to drive.

Mazda still has its early Miatas in its hidden basement. This is heartening. Because to use Mazda's hashtag parlance, that Miata back in 1989 was genuinely a #gamechanger.

With all the hoopla over the next Miata, this past Chicago Auto Show would have been a nice time for Mazda to show it to the world. Imagine that: a back-to-basics reintroduction of a car that reintroduced "back to basics." Alas, there was none -- we're looking at next year's Chicago show for the next Miata, if rumors through the grapevine are to be believed. In the meanwhile, we do get a nice press release -- and the nice video above.

For an enthusiast, that next Miata should be one of the most dramatic unveils yet. In developing such a unique product, Mazda has the burden of enticing the most traditionalist fanbase in all of automobiledom: Miata owners. You think the Lotus Owners Club is tough to appease? These sorry bunch of meanies will kvetch if a cupholder divider is 0.06 grams heavier than last year's. And wait, why are there cupholders in the first place? Already the rumors are flying: impossible weight figures, turbocharging, Kodo styling. Maybe they'll put a Corvette engine in the next one! The Miata's formula -- or the Triumph's formula, the Lotus's formula, the Austin-Healey's formula, if you will -- is simple, but it is still never predictable.

In fact, these Miata-owning dorks will converge at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on the weekend of Sept. 6 to barge their way into another Guinness World Record: the most Miatas in one place. The organizers have Mazda's full support -- this year, more than ever. Even the Hiroshima factory shift managers couldn't have foreseen this. If the record is set, it'll be a great way to celebrate the Miata's anniversary before the next model arrives, to carry us to the start of another 25 years of sporty motoring for the masses. Hey, it'll be fun. Bring the kids.

By Blake Z. Rong