In early 2003, Mazda launched the Nevada Special Edition in the United Kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy followed with the Twins Special Edition; Australia with the Classic Edition; and finally, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France with the Silver Blues Special Edition.
What this group of special editions has in common is that all the cars were available in the color Cerrion Silver (color code 24V). Outside of Australia, the car was also available in Strato Blue Mica (color code 25E). In fact, that was the only color used in the U.S. for the 2003 special edition. Cerrion Silver was never offered on the Miata there.
The colors of the interior and the soft top were coordinated to create a clear contrast with the exterior. This meant that the Strato Blue Mica exterior was paired with gray accents on the door panels, the steering wheel, and the gearshift, as well as a gray soft top. Customers could also choose between fabric upholstery or heated seats upholstered in light gray leather. For the Cerrion Silver version, this was mirrored with blue leather on the seats, blue accents in the interior, and a blue soft top.
In Germany and the United Kingdom, customers could choose between the 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter engines, both paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. In the Netherlands and Belgium, only the 1.6-liter engine with a 5-speed manual transmission was offered, while in Australia, only the 1.8-liter engine was available, paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission. In France, the Silver Blues were not heavily promoted because other special editions were available during the same period; as a result, most were imported via parallel import from Germany. Dealers in Austria and Switzerland also received the cars through Mazda Germany; in Austria, the model was again called “Twins,” while Switzerland primarily opted for the models with the 1.8-liter engine. The numbers for those countries were modest and were drawn from the total number available for Germany.
Production for the Netherlands and Belgium was limited to 100 units, just as it was in Australia. Incidentally, it appears that only 36 units were sold in the Netherlands.
In Italy, approximately 250 units of the Twins Special Edition were sold.
For the United Kingdom, 2,050 Nevadas were produced, broken down as follows:
Cerrion Silver (Total: 1,350 units)
- 200 units with a 1.6-liter engine;
- 370 units with a 1.8-liter engine and cloth upholstery;
- 780 units with a 1.8-liter engine and leather upholstery.
Strato Blue (Total: 700 units) - 100 units with a 1.6-liter engine;
- 190 units with a 1.8-liter engine and cloth upholstery;
- 410 units with a 1.8-liter engine and leather upholstery.
The large proportion of models with the 1.8-liter engine was due to a small price premium of 500 GBP.
In Germany, the price difference between the various engine versions was €2,000. One possible explanation for the large price difference compared to the United Kingdom is that the German 1.8-liter engine version has a limited-slip differential. As a result, the distribution there is clearly different, and the Silver Blue models with a 1.6-liter engine are clearly in the majority, with an expected 80-20 split. The color distribution is more likely to be 50-50. Germany was able to deliver 2,500 cars of this special edition, and as mentioned earlier, a portion of those went to Austrian and Swiss dealers.
In the U.S., the 2003 special edition Miata was available in Strato Blue, paired with a gray interior, a 1.8-liter engine, a 6-speed manual transmission, and a Toshigi-Fuji limited-slip differential. Officially, production was limited to 1,500, but 1,549 were actually produced.
All of these models can be recognized by:
- the color Cerrion Silver Metallic or Strato Blue Mica
- a blue or light gray soft top and matching leather seats or a fabric interior;
- a blue or light gray tonneau cover and a black wind deflector without speakers;
- a leather steering wheel and gearshift knob with blue or light gray accents;
- a Nardi logo at the bottom of the steering wheel and on the gearshift knob;
- a black radio and silver trim in the center console;
- silver-colored rings around the gauges and air vents;
- 5-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels in silver metallic paint, fitted with 205/45/R16 tires;
- heated seats if the seats are upholstered in leather.