Tsutomu ‘Tom’ Matano, known as the “Father of the Mazda Miata,” designer of the original Mazda MX-5, has passed away on Saturday.
Few cars have shaped the automotive world as profoundly as the Mazda Miata — especially the first-generation NA model. At a time when most manufacturers were abandoning small, fun sports cars in favor of practical family vehicles, Mazda took a bold risk, reports The Auto PH.
The company built a driver-focused, lightweight, open-top, and most importantly, affordable roadster: The NA MX-5, widely known as the Miata.
The man behind its timeless look was Tsutomu “Tom” Matano. Though the NA was a team effort, Matano, as head designer, created the elegant, instantly recognizable form that captured drivers’ hearts and has kept the Miata beloved for decades.
Matano’s journey to that moment was far from ordinary. Born in Nagasaki in 1947, he earned an engineering degree from Seikei University in Tokyo in 1969.
Dreaming of designing cars rather than just engineering them, he moved to the United States in 1970 to study at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
His early career took him across the globe: Brief stints at General Motors for Oldsmobile and Holden in Australia, followed by a move to Germany to work with BMW. In 1983, he returned to California to lead Mazda’s North American design studio.
There, his vision for the Miata took shape. After an internal competition among Mazda’s design teams, Matano’s proposal won — a simple, lightweight, joyful roadster that echoed classic British sports cars yet felt fresh and modern.
He also contributed to other iconic Mazda designs, including the FD-generation RX-7.
Matano rose steadily within Mazda, becoming vice president of design at Mazda R&D North America, then executive vice president of western operations, and later executive designer at Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan before retiring in 2002.
Even after stepping away from corporate roles, Matano remained deeply connected to the car community. He shared his expertise with design schools and industry groups and frequently appeared at automotive events worldwide — including in the Philippines, where he joined the launch of the 30th Anniversary MX-5 in 2019.
True to his signature phrase, “Always Inspired,” Tom Matano left a lasting impact — not just through the Miata’s iconic shape, but by inspiring countless car enthusiasts and designers around the globe.
