Mazda MX-5 Gleneagles | PH Private Area

The limited-edition, classic Mazda MX-5 can feel like as much of a part of the car’s appeal as a soft-top roof and rear-wheel drive. It’s hard to imagine the first generation in particular without an exclusive colour of some kind, a set of funky graphics, and an interior uplift. There were so many that it became hard to keep track of, from Berkeley to California and Merlot to Monaco. 

Nowadays, of course, things are a bit different, sports cars being less of a priority, and therefore special-edition MX-5s not emerging with anything like the old frequency. Even the current generation received the Recaro and the 30th Anniversary a few years back, but come 2024, the 35th Anniversary car was reserved for America – and the recently revised ND range doesn’t feature a special edition. Prime Line, Exclusive Line, or Homura are your choices – pity. Fortunately, the latest car is more than good enough to make you forget about how appealing yellow paint or bucket seats might be.

But if it must be a limited-run model, this is the MX-5 for you. Quite why there was a Mazda sports car commemorating the ‘tradition, prestige, and quality of the Glenagles Hotel and golf club’ isn’t exactly clear, but there were 400 of them made in the mid-’90s to help flog a few more MX-5s to customers in the UK. Based on the 1.8-litre model, all of them were identical: Montego Blue paint like an RX-7, Champagne leather and roof tonneau, four-spoke wheels, and something like wood trim for the interior. There was also a three-spoke steering wheel with the hotel crest in the centre and – get this – a tartan-bound owner’s folder. Special editions of the 1990s really were a different breed. 

This one still has that document wallet, plus all the equipment to mark out a Gleneagles from the rest of the range. Indeed, it even comes with the original, optional hard top, plus the Clarion radio it first left the factory with. We all know how hard it is to find good, NA MX-5s three decades on, let alone one of the special editions (despite their previous ubiquity), so this is a real turn-up. It’s the third owner of the Gleneagles that’s now selling it. The first had their Mazda just a year, but the second was much keener, keeping the car for a quarter of a century until 2022. It is said to have been ‘lovingly maintained’ and certainly looks lovely, the paint in particular. And the tartan, of course. 

Recent work has included springs, dampers, and brakes in 2022, a new exhaust last year, plus a service and MOT just this month. The latter showed no advisories, just like last year’s, so there really ought to be nothing to worry about for this summer apart from what CDs to take on your day out. The current keeper, an MX-5 Owners Club member, says the Gleneagles regularly draws admiring glances at shows – it’s easy to see why. 

Like a lot of the heroes of the ’90s, MX-5s have appreciated over recent years as rust and neglect have claimed so many. This one is for sale at £9,000; all bar one of the others on PH is more expensive, for some idea of where the originals now sit. From the Shed spec sports to a bonafide classic, it’s been some journey for the little Mazda. This one turns 30 next year, in fact – only one place to take it for an anniversary road trip.