Mazda Is Bringing A Sleek New Paint Color To Its 2027 MX-5 Miata

The current ND generation of the Mazda MX-5 Miata is an absolute darling among car enthusiasts and sports car lovers, and for good reason. No, it doesn't offer world-beating performance numbers, but thanks to its all-out focus on lightness and response, the modern MX-5 delivers a pure driving experience that's unrivaled on the market — even compared to cars costing three or four times as much.

Apart from the MX-5's inherent and expected deficiencies in things like passenger space or cargo storage, the Miata is a sports car that's generally hard to find fault with. However, if there's one area where the modern MX-5 is notably lacking, it's in color choices. Despite its reputation as a fun-loving sports car, the ND's color palette has typically been both small and lacking in vibrance — particularly compared to the Miatas of the '90s and 2000s.

Yes, you can get the MX-5 in Mazda's eye-catching Soul Red, which has been the brand's signature color for more than a decade now, but apart from that, modern Miata buyers are limited to a small selection of hues, dominated by basic color choices like white, silver, gray, and black. For 2027, however, Mazda is adding a new, green color option to the ND-generation MX-5 for the first time — but will this relatively subdued Zinc Green Metallic option be enough to make a difference? Let's take a look at the new color and the history of green Miatas.

While this will be the first time that the ND generation MX-5 has been offered in a green color, it's not the first time Mazda has sold a green Miata. There was a limited-edition British Racing Green variant of the 1991 Miata, which is one of the most sought-after versions of the first-generation car. Mazda followed it up with another special edition using this legendary green racing color for the 2001 model year. 

British Racing Green isn't the only green hue to have been used on previous-generation Miatas, either. The Miata NB, for example, was offered in multiple shades of green, including a dark Emerald Green and a more teal-like color known as Splash Green Mica. The third-generation NC Miata was also offered in a handsome body color called Nordic Green.

Mazda claims that it's offered around 80 different shades of green over its history, including the attractive Cypress green available on the current Mazda CX-50 SUV. The 2027 MX-5's Zinc Green Metallic color is a new hue, though, which Mazda says was inspired by zinc chromate primer typically used on industrial products. Mazda also says the paint will look subtly different depending on the lighting, just like the Miata's Soul Red Crystal color.

Given the Miata's long history with green colors, this option will surely be a welcome addition to the MX-5's color list for 2027. However, based on what we've seen so far, we have to wonder how much of a difference this particular color will make. From some angles, the subdued, almost desaturated green looks very close to the metallic gray color that's long been offered on the ND Miata — and far from the bright green that some might feel is more befitting of a small roadster.

There have been a few limited-edition (and highly desirable) ND MX-5s that have been made available in vivid colors, including the Racing Orange 2019 30th Anniversary model and a rare Classic Red version sold in the Japanese market. However, even the ND's more unique colors have been quite low-key, like the tan-beige Zircon Sand color that debuted for 2023.

For the most part, buyers should be happy to see Zinc Green Metallic added to the MX-5's color options. Despite that, we'd still love to see Mazda do a proper follow-up to the early British Racing Green cars, complete with that attractive tan leather interior. Perhaps we'll have to wait for the upcoming fifth-generation Miata to see if that happens.