We’re starting off strong with the 1996 Mazda Miata M-Coupe concept, which debuted at the 1996 New York Auto Show. The idea of a hardtop Miata first came about in 1992, with designer Tom Matano envisioning a grand tourer with more luggage space and interior comfort. While this concept was made from fiberglass, potential production cars would use metal. I love the look of the double-bubble roof and large rear glass, and it even had reshaped rear fenders and lower-profile pop-up headlights.
The M-Coupe never went into production, and to this day there hasn’t been a Miata coupe. Okay, yes, there was a fixed-roof coupe version of the NB Miata, but only 179 were made and it was only sold in Japan, so that doesn’t really count. The NC generation got a folding hardtop option that still looked like a normal convertible, while the current ND offers the RF model, which looks like a coupe but has a fairly complex folding hardtop targa panel. Maybe the NE Miata will finally offer a series-production coupe from the factory.
