Tsutomu Matano, Designer of the Original Mazda Miata, Died Saturday

• Tsutomu “Tom” Matano is known as the “father of the Miata” thanks to his design work on the first and second generations of the iconic convertible.

• He also designed the FD RX-7, the RX-8, and numerous other Mazda vehicles until he retired from the automaker in 2002.

• Matano died September 20, he was 76 years old.

We learned over the weekend of the passing of Tsutomu “Tom” Matano, former head of global design at Mazda and “father” of the original MX-5 Miata.

Matano died on September 20, 2025, at age 76.

Born in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1947, Matano moved to the United States in 1969 after having completed engineering studies in his native country.

Upon his arrival, he enrolled in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, before joining General Motors shortly after graduating.

In addition to working on the automaker’s American products in Detroit, he also did design work for its Australian subsidiary Holden, in Melbourne.

Matano’s career then moved to Munich, where he helped design the first BMW 3 Series, before moving back to the United States, this time in Irvine, California, where Mazda’s North American headquarters are located.

It’s thanks to his work at this company that Tom Matano is most famous.

Indeed, while climbing through Mazda’s design ranks, he made valuable contributions to the appearance of many of its most beloved cars, including the original MX-5 Miata.

Indeed, Matano began working for Mazda in 1983 as the brand’s North American design boss, and he retired in 2002 as the company’s global head of design.

In addition to the first (NA) Miata, he also worked on its successor, the NB Miata, as well as the third-generation RX-7 (FD) and the first iteration of the RX-8.

Of course, he also contributed to the design of Mazda’s bread-and-butter cars, such as the first Mazda 6 and the Ford Escape-derived Tribute.

Along with Automotive Journalist turned product planner Bob Hall, Matano was widely considered as the “father” of the Miata, one of the most beloved car models of the last 40 years.

The designer clearly had a lot of love for his creation too, as he was regularly seen at Miata events around the world and he went via the handle “Miata Papa” on Instagram.

When asked about his design process, Matano called it the “Empathetic Design Method”, because he tried to “become” the object he designed in order to see it from the inside as well as the outside.

Tenets of this method included proportions, shade, light, and attitude, with the goal of creating a design that inspired affection.

Miata fans around the world have paid tributes and shared stories about their encounters with Mr. Matano on forums and social media platforms over the last few days.

Source: The Drive.com and Hagerty.com