The Eunos Roadster, a masterpiece of Japanese open sports, debuted in 1989

In recent years, coupled with the old car boom, the number of young people who say they like old cars has been increasing. However, it is also true that young people do not have many opportunities to actually see, touch, or drive old cars. That’s why AMW decided to ask 19-year-old female racing driver Rami Sasaki, who loves old cars, to ride an old car and give us her impressions from a young person’s fresh perspective. This time it’s Japan’s world-class convertible hit, the first generation NA Mazda Eunos Roadster.

Test drive a highly original unit that has undergone Mazda’s full-scale restoration

Rami Sasaki, who made her four-wheel racing debut in the 2023 season in the KYOJO CUP, a women-only motorsport category held at Fuji Speedway, is such a deep-rooted old car enthusiast that she posts about her participation in old car events on SNS. In recent years, many racing drivers have said that they like racing and not the cars themselves, but Rami even enjoys driving her own car, the Toyota 86, on the circuit in her private time.

Aside from being a racing driver, she usually works for MSC Corporation, the company that manages Formula Drift Japan, and leads a car-obsessed life both in her private and public life.

We asked Rami to drive a Mazda-owned Eunos Roadster, a 1989 model that is one of the early models in the history of the NA Roadster. It has been restored and maintained by Mazda to the best of its ability, and is in top-class condition amongst the world’s original Eunos Roadsters.

“The retractive headlights are cute!”

Rami’s reaction when she saw the Eunos Roadster in superb condition was a little different from her previous old cars.

“Cute! That was my first impression. Especially when the retractable headlights are raised, it’s even cuter. The headlights give the impression of being rather large about the body size, but that may also be a factor in the cute factor.”

In fact, for slide control training, she borrows a second-generation NB Roadster from Starfield, a car shop in Saitama Prefecture that also provides motorsport support activities, and practices in it.

“The window switches are centralized and the side brake is on the passenger side, the same as in the NB. It feels like an ingenious way to make good use of space in a compact car. Speaking of differences, the NB has digital trip and odometer, while the NA has analog, so this is a point that makes me feel somewhat nostalgic.”

“The long antenna might bother me a bit”

There are some points about the interior and exterior that I’d like to change a bit.

“I have the impression that the long antenna is a bit awkward or un-smart. I don’t think you see many NAs with antennas like this.”

Many NA Roadster owners may have felt the same way as Rami, and in fact, short antennas are standard customization for NA Roadsters. It is probably more rare to find an original antenna still in place.