Mazda Miata’s Original Designer Passes Away
One of the most iconic and fun-to-drive cars has lost its original designer. Tsutomu “Tom” Matano, who led the design of the first-generation Mazda Miata/MX-5 and is considered by many to be its father, died last Saturday in San Francisco. He was 76.
Those who followed Matano on Instagram actually knew him as “miatapapa.”
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After moving from Japan to the United States in 1969, Matano studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, then landed a job at General Motors thanks to a futuristic sketch of a Pontiac. He later worked for Holden in Australia and BMW in Germany, helping to shape the 3 Series.
Back in California, at Mazda's North American design studio in Irvine, Matano contributed to the development of sports cars in the 1980s, including the world-famous Miata, and in the 1990s, including the third-generation RX-7. His highest position was executive designer and director of Mazda's North American operations.
In 1999, Matano joined the small Japanese automaker's headquarters as global design director. Following his retirement from Mazda three years later, he was hired to head the Academy of Art College’s School of Industrial Design in San Francisco. He continued to hold this position until earlier this year, in addition to working as a journalist for the Western Automotive Journalists and regularly serving as a judge at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Matano also kept participating in various Miata/MX-5 events around the world, encouraging owners who were into racing and even putting his signature and his tagline, "Always Inspired," on many of their cars.
As for the current-generation MX-5, you may have heard about the 230 units of the 2025 Mazda MX-5 35th Anniversary Edition available in Canada. If you weren’t fast enough to secure one, you can always wait until they eventually go up for sale privately.