The entire ensemble is done up in an eye-and light-catching Sapphire blue-and-black color combination. Seating comfort is enhanced via grippy-and-breathable faux suede inserts, and the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob are Nardi designer pieces. Chrome bezels highlight the speedo and tach, and all the gauges sport red needles. Blue is also the color of choice for the top and tonneau cover. Don't forget the obligatory special floor mats and a build-sequence number badge on the left front fender.

No British roadster of the '50s or '60s ever packed as much into a proper sports car interior as does the Miata. Particularly impressive is how Mazda manages to squeeze a powerful, crisp-sounding Bose audio system (with both CD and cassette players) and logically laid out, easy-to-use heating and air conditioning controls-into an area on the console that's only about two-thirds the size of this page.

The Miata's cabin continues to be businesslike, yet sporty. We found the new suede-ish seat inserts to breathe better than typical vinyl or leather.

No other major enhancements were required, as the Miata was redesigned-and substantially improved in just about every way-last year, as a '99 model. Final pricing has also yet to be announced, though expect it to be about double that of the original '90 Miata's $13,000 range. For now, you can only get the six-speed on the Anniversary model; Mazda is being coy about when it will be made standard or optional on other Miatas. So if you want one, don't dawdle: There'll only be 7500 10th Anniversary Edition Miatas built, just 3000 of which are earmarked for the U.S. market.