Part 1: Pikes Peak to Pebble Beach
The Mountains: We go on a treasure hunt in search of America's greatest driving roads to meet the one-millionth Mazda MX-5.
The Mazda MX-5 has made more than a million people smile since it dropped its top more than 25 years ago.
Over that time, and through four distinct generations, it has etched itself into the record books as the world's most popular sports car, with Mazda earlier this year rolling the one millionth example out of its Hiroshima production facility.
The exact one-millionth MX-5 is currently on a worldwide whistle stop tour gathering more than 38,000 signatures from owners, fans, celebrities and VIPs across its Soul Red paintwork and we have a mission to be among them.
While it will be making its way to Australia early next year, we couldn't wait that long and so we set up a date to meet the milestone machine at the recent Monterey Motorsport Reunion at Laguna Seca in California, just one of the high profile classic car events held during the annual Monterey Car Week that culminates in the glamorous Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance.
We have just one small problem; our starting point is more than 3000km away, and over 4km above sea level, at the finish line of another one of America's iconic motoring events, the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. We have five days – and five states to traverse – to get there in time. Now that might sound like an easy cross-country road trip but the MX-5 was never created to sit on a mindless freeway for hours on end, so we're taking the long way from Pikes Peak to Pebble Beach in search of America's greatest driving roads; hidden stretches of lonely, twisting blacktop across the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, through the deserts of Arizona, southern Utah, Nevada and California towards the picturesque Pacific Ocean and the magnificent highway that hugs the coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
These are all environments where the MX-5 is in its element; top-down, soaking up the elements and the summer sun while fully exposed to the majesty of the landscapes within them and revelling in the roads that circulate through them.
It is an iconic road trip littered with natural wonders. And a genuinely pleasant problem to have in regards to meeting the milestone Mazda at the other end.
The Mountains
At 4302m above sea level, Pikes Peak is almost double the height of Mount Kosciusko – Australia's tallest mountain. Yet, it only ranks as the 39th highest peak in the US. However, looking down from the summit at the 19km stretch of never ending hairpins that snakes it way down there is a head-spinning incentive to kick off our road trip.
Not only because it's the same course as the Pikes Peak Hillclimb (although we're running it in reverse down the mountain), but the noticeable lack of oxygen at this altitude quite literally has my head in the clouds. And, even though we're at the height of summer, it's cold and starting to snow. Truly!
Needless to say, the run down the hill is genuinely breathtaking; the road is as smooth as it is winding, with varying sections of rhythm and catch fencing on only the most precarious corners. With some enthusiasm to get to the bottom, the MX-5 happily squeals it way down the mountain, its rear-drive chassis, pin-sharp steering and strong brakes revelling in the changes of direction.
As both the car and myself take a deep breath on the side of the road looking back to the summit, Pikes Peak has lived up to its status as a genuinely iconic drive and one that should be on the bucket list for any petrol head. But we still have thousands of miles to go… and no time to waste.
The next item on our tarmac treasure hunt has a coincidental link to our entire six-figure mission. It's called the Million Dollar Highway in the western part of the Rocky Mountains and is considered one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
Pikes Peak isn't on that list, so there's plenty of trepidation heading west.
But the 450km in between is littered with equally challenging roads and postcard scenery, which is not surprising when you consider that scattered throughout the Rockies is a collection of the world's best ski resorts such as Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge and Crested Butte.
Okay, so the MX-5 wouldn't be an ideal car for a ski holiday, or a family road trip. Its two-seater cabin is comfortable enough for one, but with only limited storage space (there's no glovebox per se but there is lockable hidey hole between the seats, a small centre console, a non-slip shelf at the base of the dash and tiny door pockets) the passenger seat soon becomes littered – literally – with empty water bottles, my backpack and GoPro cameras and walkie talkies. The boot isn't much better either with enough space for a couple of duffle bags.
Still, the MX-5 was never designed to be anything more than a selfish fun machine. And, as we approach the end of a 12-hour trek with a brief stop at the start of the Million Dollar Highway in the picturesque hamlet, and self-proclaimed Jeep capital of the world, of Ouray, I still feel like a million bucks, even if I don't look it as I'm slightly sunburnt, still a little damp from brief but torrential shower and my hair is rustled into a wind-blown bird's nest.
The Million Dollar Highway is a 40km section of the US50 Highway between Ouray in the north and Silverton in the south and runs through the San Juan Valley and alongside the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which itself is an American National Historic Landmark.
Exactly how it got the name is the stuff of legend; some claim it cost more than a million dollars per mile to construct when it was first built in the 1880s while others say there is more than a million dollars worth of gold under every mile of tarmac.
Whatever the case, we've only got a couple of hours of sunlight left and I don't really fancy driving one of the world's most dangerous roads in the dark.
Heading out of Ouray, it immediately climbs into a series of challenging hairpins and, then after a few kays of never ending twists through verdant pine forests, the world suddenly disappears as the road cuts into the side of the mountain with a sheer 100 metre drop into the gorge chiselled by the Uncompahgre River at the bottom.
It's fine heading north as you drive along the cliff face, but anyone in the passenger's seat heading the other way wouldn't want to suffer vertigo. There's little chance for the driver to take in the magnificent view either as there's simply no space for a guard rail and the consequences of any lapse in concentration are Thelma and Louise-like. Sure, it's not as famous as Pikes Peak but, to put it in perspective, when Drive's video producer Lucas asked me "So which road would you rather go flat out on?" I couldn't pick. Yep, it's scary. The kind of good scary that makes a great drive a genuine adventure.
And that is exactly what you'll get crossing the Rocky Mountains, no matter where you go, what you drive or the pace you take. But it's far from the end of our adventure…
The Desert
Because, as quickly as the Rockies rise from the monotonous corn fields of the mid-west they fall into the deserts of Utah to the west, New Mexico to the south and Arizona to the south west.
Don't for a minute think they are anything like the Aussie Outback though; the tectonic activity when the Pacific Plate smashed into the North American plate created mountain ranges all the way from the Rockies to the Californian Coast. That not only means the desert is spectacular in its own right, but there are also some great driving roads snaking their way through it.
We start our desert journey at the Four Corners – the intersection of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona – and, while the latest-generation MX-5 finally has sat nav, we leave the direction we'll take in the hands of fate.
With one foot in Utah and the other in New Mexico, I flick a coin into the air and watch it tumble onto the ground, eventually spinning its way and stopping on Arizona. Let's go then…
No matter which way you take, the desert is relentlessly hot in the middle of summer. Thankfully, the MX-5's small cockpit doesn't take long to cool down with the air con blasting and the roof put in place, which is such a quick and easy task; simply unlock it and it pops up enough for you to grab it and reef over your head and then latch in place. It might not be as convenient as the press of a button like electronically-controlled roofs in most other convertibles, but it is undeniably quicker to do – either way – on the run.
The MX-5 is also a surprisingly comfortable to cruise in. While it's a sports car first and foremost, the suspension is fairly compliant, the seats are snug, the driving position is brilliant and it's got all the latest mod cons in the multi media system.
It really is a monumental little car…
Speaking of monuments, we don't stay in Arizona for very long as we make a detour towards Utah and into Monument Valley, the postcard for America's Wild West made famous in countless Cowboy and Indian movies, not to mention Thelma and Louise, Back to the Future III and National Lampoon's Vacation. This is also where Forrest Gump decided to eventually stop running.
While the battalion of buttes that stand tall like a silhouette of soldiers are stunning, we can't stop running either as we're not even half way in our Pikes Peak to Pebble Beach road trip.
There is more to the desert than Monument Valley. With little in the way of vegetation the earth is fully exposed to the point where you can see how it was formed; craggy mountains pushed upwards highlight the pressure that created them, layer upon layer of rocks in the cliffs tell the stories of alternating floods and droughts and, as we meander closer towards the Grand Canyon, deep crevices showcase the force of glaciers and rivers cutting their way across the ground. As much as the solitude of the desert is deafening, you can almost hear it breathing, grinding, creating in the silence. It's an amazing place.
In fact, nothing highlights the forces of nature better than the Grand Canyon, one of the seven wonders of the natural world. As we stare down into it from the North Rim, it is truly staggering. And well worth the 200km-odd detour off our route, which itself provided its own surprises.
If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, it's not just a big hole in the middle of the desert. The North Rim actually sits at over 2500m above sea level, so, firstly the temperature drops rapidly enough for me to drop the MX-5's roof again, and secondly there are some great roads that wind their way out of the desert floor and a brilliant stretch of tarmac to the national park itself. That road – from Jacob Lake on Highway 89 – is smooth, wide and flows nicely with long sweeping bends through thick pine forests interspersed with long straights past open meadows. You could be in Switzerland. But then a herd of Bison roaming on the fresh grass suddenly brings you back to reality. More than the Canyon itself, the area is simply breathtaking.
And in stark contrast, just a couple of hours away, Las Vegas rises from the desert like a neon-lit oasis. Or an eyesore, depending on your point of view. Either way, we head straight for the blinding lights of the casino strip where the chaos is a little overwhelming and the MX-5 is dwarfed by gigantic pick-up trucks and tour buses in terms of size and the occasional (rented) supercar blasting away from the lights in terms of performance. But, with the roof down allowing the sights and sounds of Vegas to infiltrate all of my senses, it doesn't feel out of place as far as the look-at-me factor goes as Mazda's design team have held on to enough of the MX-5's heritage while throwing away most of its retro style for a thoroughly modern look.
After a few laps it's time to park the little drop-top for the night. And let's just say that what goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas…
The Ocean
California is a land of extreme contrasts. Leaving Las Vegas, we head north to cross into the sunshine state through Death Valley, one of the hottest places on the planet and where the highest reliable temperature – 56.7 degrees celcius – was recorded in 1913. Today, it's a fairly mild 47 degrees as we drop down into its barren, salt-crusted belly, which is almost 100 metres below sea level.
Despite its inhospitable nature, or more precisely because of it, Death Valley is hot bed for car makers to torture test tomorrow's new cars and, no doubt, the MX-5 was put through its paces here before it was signed off for showroom duty last year.
In fact, California is not only where it was tested but is the birthplace of the MX-5. When it was introduced in 1989, the Miata (as it's called in the USA) was a smash hit and has since become a modern motoring icon. In fact, the majority of the one million MX-5's that have been built have been sold in Southern California.
And we can actually thank America for having a choice in engines for the first time in the latest MX-5. Mazda in Japan initially only wanted to offer the roadster with the newer, rev-happy 1.5-litre engine but the US, where petrol is still cheap (at around 60c/litre) and the old adage that there is no replacement for displacement still rings true, refused to take a backwards step and demanded the 2.0-litre be maintained – and tweaked slightly. While peak power remains at 118kW, it now produces six percent more pulling power at 200Nm.
As we climb out of Death Valley (having spotted a flotilla of camouflaged Hyundai i30 prototypes doing what the MX-5 did a few years ago), the extra torque helps with more mid-range punch out of the corners and less work for the snickety six-speed manual transmission.
With the roadster relishing another ridge race, it's not hard to see why the little drop-top is so popular in California. For starters, it rarely rains, the winters are fairly mild and epic mountain or canyon roads are never far away. It's a driver's paradise – from the desert to the coast, where the contrast is no more greater.
Just a couple of hours from the searing heat of Death Valley, the temperature has dropped almost 30 degrees as we finally reach the Pacific Coast Highway. Our final stretch of the PCH, as it is colloquially known, is just over 160kms long, from the seaside holiday village of Cambria to the Monterey Peninsula where the one millionth MX-5 is waiting for us. Yet it takes a full day for us to get there; constantly stopping to take in the amazing views, running back and forth over brilliant twisty sections of blacktop (just for the fun of it) or stuck in congo lines of slow-moving tourists in rented Ford Mustangs or motorhomes.
After five days and more than 3300km from the top of Pikes Peak, we finally reach Pebble Beach for Monterey Car Week where thousands of the world's wealthiest collectors gather to show off their prized possessions, buy new toys or race historic machinery at the famed Laguna Seca circuit. And it's where I find the final piece in our treasure hunt, the Soul Red millionth MX-5, and put my moniker on its driver-side door.
It feels like we're a million miles away from where we started, but the MX-5 doesn't feel any different at all. It has revelled in every environment; from the perilous roads of the Rocky Mountains to long, hot days in the desert, from cruising around Vegas to punching along the Pacific Coast. It truly is one in a million.
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