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My ex-wife jokingly referred to my 1990 Miata as “the other woman.” I bought it years before I bought her a ring, which may have had something to do with it—and maybe something to do with the “ex” part of that equation too—and it’s still here. Why is any of this relevant? Well, according to a report that came out over the weekend, it appears that a Miata might just be causing problems for another marriage, only this time, it’s one that brought us the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ.
Yeah, we’re citing Best Car here, so take this all with a(n enormous) grain of salt, but the Japanese rag claims Toyota and Mazda will co-develop a successor to both the GR86 and MX-5 on a shared platform. Note that this report makes no mention of a Subaru BRZ at all. Given recent sales numbers, that may not simply be an oversight. The cheapest variants of Subaru’s performance models were both sacrificed to the altar of tariffs, and the more-expensive ones lying around aren’t moving in large numbers.
On the surface, the BRZ always made less sense for Subie than the FR-S and GR86 have made for Scion/Toyota. After all, the whole idea was inspired by the AE86 (the rear-wheel drive Corolla of the 1980s, for those not intimately familiar with chassis codes). And if you look at Subaru’s traditional portfolios, rear-wheel-drive 2+2s aren’t anywhere to be found.
If you’re any kind of Miata fan, you may be aware that something similar happened once before. When Mazda decided to revive the rotary in the RX-8 for 2003, it was the Miata that helped form its underpinnings. Some blame the stretched, four-seat RX-8 for the NC’s relative bulk compared to other Miatas. The third-generation roadster was nearly 2,500 pounds in its lightest configuration (the 5-speed Sport model); the 4th-generation ND came in nearly 150 pounds lighter after all of its “Skyactiv” efficiency optimizations.
Speaking of the RX-8, I can’t help but wonder what Mazda might be able to do with another 2+2 version of the Miata platform, especially if Toyota has its eyes on a Supra successor. Give me a Mazda six-speed over BMW’s any day of the week…
I’ve reached out to all three automakers for a comment on the Best Car report. I’ll update this story if I hear back with any insights.
Got a tip? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com.
Byron is a contributing writer and auto reviewer with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
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