Japanese auto and locomotive industry designer Toshi Tanaka passed away at the age of 75 a few days ago, and the original MX-5/Miata lightweight convertible sports car was written by him. Under the leadership of Shunji Tanaka, it laid the product direction of Mazda's hot-selling convertible sports car, and even influenced the design trend of the brand in the past 30 years. The news was posted by his friend Katsuyuki Satake through social media, which did not mention the reason for his death, in addition to relaying Shunji Tanaka's last words before his death: "I have no regrets in this life."
The original Mazda MX-5 was led by Shunji Tanaka to design the appearance and interior of the vehicle, and the core idea at that time was to create a simple, fun and affordable small sports car. MX-5 since the introduction of the original factory code NA in 1989, through NB, NC to the fourth generation of ND published in 2015, no matter how much the shape, materials or technology have changed, but some of the NA genes from Shunji Tanaka have still been retained. One such proof is the recently introduced 990S Turs, which weighs just 990 kilograms, almost a short distance from the original NA version, to express the simplicity and fun that the MX-5 values.
When designing the MX-5, Mazda actually let the brand compete in design centers around the world, and finally the California team defeated the Japanese team to win. Mazda then entrusted Shunji Tanaka with the task of leading mass production, reinterpreting the design of the American team. And the original NA MX-5, which still makes car fans talk about it, was born.
In addition to the MX-5, Shunji Tanaka was involved in the design of the 929 medium and large motorhome during his time at Mazda. After leaving Mazda, he joined Kawasaki's design department and held the position of chief designer of the brand. However, in his career, among the products he has participated in or led, the MX-5 is still the most famous. In the case of small roadsters, the MX-5 is still the leader in this class distance, and Shunji Tanaka can be said to have defined the imagination of many fans for small sports cars in his own strength, and it is no wonder that he can say such a dashing and handsome sentence as "I have no regrets in this life".