Shunji Tanaka, designer of the Miata, dies at age 75

I owe a debt of gratitude to this man every time I take my Miata out for a drive.

https://carbuzz.com/news/designer-of-the-mazda-miata-shunji-tanaka-dies-aged-75

Quote:

"The Miata is the Porsche 911 of small sports cars..."

Huh?

I always thought that the Porsche 911 was the Porsche 911 of small sports cars. 

So many times, the concept car is cool then the production model is altered negatively. 
The original concept car looks awful. C4 in the front with a bad version of an Alfa in the rear. Boy, did Tanaka turn that around. 
Thank you. 

I raise a glass of Saki. 

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

The 911 isn't exactly small. It looks like it's 20" longer, 4" wider, and 2" taller than the Miata.

I propose that those with miatas post a photo of theirs as tribute. I'll argue that it's one of the two platforms of all time for a project to take in just about any direction possible. Creating something as a starting point for a recipe to go in multiple directions is incredibly difficult and often can't be foreseen. 

An amazing design that reincarnated the two seat roadster, and has outlived all its rivals in the segment.  Job well done!

I don't know why, but I'm kind of surprised that the designer of a car that came out 34 years ago, just passed away and was only 75. It isn't surprising when I think about the ages, but for some reason I figured this person would be 90.

I'll go have a quiet talk with the Manic Miata this evening to break the news gently.

I love this photo of my car. It's also one of those "photos taken moments before disaster", when I blew the transmission up 900 miles from home.

The impact of the Miata on the automotive enthusiast community is impossible to calculate. Rest in well-deserved peace, Tanaka-san.

Toyman! said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

The 911 isn't exactly small. It looks like it's 20" longer, 4" wider, and 2" taller than the Miata.

A 991 maybe.  993 and earlier are a lot closer to a Miata in size.

I don't currently own one, but I've owned three in the past. Here is one of them doing sports.
 

I have never owned one, but I have raced three of them a number of times, and it was always entertaining. This photo is from the first time I ever drove one, Feb 2004, VIR.  I didn't drive one on the street for several more years

I've owned 5, all NAs.  I really miss my 94 R.  It's one of the few cars I regret selling.  
 

I'm slow shopping a clean NB right now, blown engines okay by me.  Rust is my prime no go.  

I think it is important to bring another view to this discussion. No mention has been made of Tom Matano, head of the Irvine studio and Mark Jordan, who worked there. In my opinion, they should get the lion's share of the credit for the design. Generally they are credited with that accomplishment. I assume Tanaka-san was in charge of the production development in Hiroshima.

Certainly, a success of this level will have many "fathers".

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Quote:

"The Miata is the Porsche 911 of small sports cars..."

Huh?

I always thought that the Porsche 911 was the Porsche 911 of small sports cars. 

No, the 911 is not even the 911 of small sports cars, that's the Cayman... which is now ballooning in size, so it is looking to loose that also.

The Miata IS the modern sports car (in the classic sense of sports car)

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Toyman! said:

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

The 911 isn't exactly small. It looks like it's 20" longer, 4" wider, and 2" taller than the Miata.

A 991 maybe.  993 and earlier are a lot closer to a Miata in size.

That would be almost 30 years ago. Even then, the 1994  911 was 13" longer, 1" narrower, and 4" taller than the same year Miata.

Miata are tiny. Like LBC tiny. It's one of the reasons I don't have one. I will never be what anyone would call tiny.

I went to JCCS in 2014 and shook Matano's hand. I thought he was the designer but apparently I was off on the details.  He was passing out these cool cards.  
 

First one.

Second and current one. 
 

Creator of the MGB that doesn't leak oil.

Ours the day we bought it 8 yrs ago.