What's the news?

You know that moment when you realise that the kid from Gerry Maguire is now all grown up and about to start college? Well Mazda is about to pull the automotive equivalent of that trick by pointing out that the evergreen MX-5 is officially 25 years old this year. Way to make us feel creaky, Mazda. Thanks a bunch.

Still, that's hardly the car's fault and in the quarter century since the MX was first unveiled at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show it has passed into history as the best-selling two-seat sports car of all time. Much of the MX-5 story is now legend, what with the Lotus Elan-aping shape of the original, the cool pop-up headlamps (whatever happened to them, eh?) and the Jinba-Ittai spirit - a Japanese phrase that roughly translates as 'horse and rider in perfect harmony.' Sounds silly, but when you first drive an MX-5 it kinda all makes sense.

For the 25th anniversary, there is almost inevitably an anniversary model. Just 1,000 25th Anniversary Editions will be built and 750 of them are coming to the UK, underlying Britain's love affair with the car.

Exterior

All of them will get a model-unique, 'Soul Red Metallic' paint finish with Brilliant Black door mirrors, A-pillars and power-operated retractable hardtop roof. Dark gunmetal grey 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear diffuser and chrome exhaust trim complete the bespoke exterior, with each example benefiting from unique, Limited Edition, numbered external badging.

Interior

On board, the 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Mazda MX-5 gets heated, Light Stone leather trimmed upholstery with contrasting red stitching for the seats, steering wheel, gearshift and handbrake lever, and 25th Anniversary logo-embossed headrests. There are also bespoke, hand-painted Dark Red dashboard decoration panel, Brilliant Black roll-over bar covers, alloy pedal set and 25th Anniversary stainless steel scuff plates.

Specific to the UK 25th Anniversary Limited Edition MX-5 is a 6.1-inch touch screen Mazda Navigation System. Exclusively developed for Mazda by Alpine, the fully integrated, high resolution system features 46 European country maps, 29 different languages, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, an integrated CD, radio and DVD player with a 50:50 split screen allowing for the simultaneous viewing of two input sources, and customisable user profile settings for each driver.

Mechanicals

As ever, the 2.0-litre, 16v, 160hp petrol engine is stuck to the front of a slick, short-throw six-speed manual transmission, and Mazda claims a sub-eight-second 0-62mph run and a 136mph top speed 'with perfect, 50:50 weight distribution and a low moment of inertia for outstanding agility and driving enjoyment.'

Anything else?

"To date, three generations of Mazda MX-5 have witnessed the release of over 43 Special Edition models in the UK since 1990," said Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director, Mazda UK. "None, however, could be more significant to us than this 25th Anniversary Limited Edition, which marks such an important milestone for a car that single-handedly reintroduced the world to the pleasures of exhilarating and affordable open-topped motoring."