UPDATE 9/23/25: Mazda has released an official statement on Tom Matano’s passing via social media. The statement reads:
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and visionary Tom Matano. Tom was more than the incredibly talented designer of icons like the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the FD RX-7. He inspired others through his philosophy of joy and connection, and his love of teaching.
He will be truly missed. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. To the Mazda community, never forget: Always Inspired.”
The original story continues below.
Car culture has lost an icon. Tom Matano also known as “Miata Papa” has passed away at the age of 76. Matano was the original designer of the first generation Mazda Miata (NA). The Miata’s impact on the automotive industry, car culture, and motorsports cannot be understated, even if it’s design was. Underneath the cute roadster was what some regarded as a perfectly balanced sports car.
There were inexpensive, rear-wheel drive, Japanese cars before it, but nothing quite captured people like the original Miata. Its design and capabilities came together in a perfect storm that resulted in an iconic model. All of it started from Matano’s pen. Matano began his career at General Motors before eventually landing at Mazda in 1983 as a chief designer. Matano’s Miata was released by 1989 and the rest is history.
Matano also worked on other Mazda models including the MX-3 and MX-6 coupes and the legendary FD-generation RX-7. Matano also served as Director Emeritus
School of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University in San Fransisco fostering the careers of countless automotive designers.
Despite his passing, Matano’s influence on automotive design will continue for generations as even today designers will no doubt tlook to Matano’s work for inspiration. At the time of this article we haven’t seen an official statement from Mazda, yet but we will update if/when it is released.
In the meantime we’ll reflect on Matano’s work with gratitude. We couldn’t possibly imagine what car culture would look like without the Miata but unfortunately we’ll have to live in a world without its creator. If you happen to own a Miata of any generation, today would be a great day to go put some miles on it.