The Mazda MX-5 Miata has won a lot of fans since the introduction of the original in 1989. A lot of fans, and a lot of buyers ??“ 800,000 buyers, to be precise, as Mazda announced that production milestone after seventeen years on the market.

Mazda found it had a winning formula with the original Miata, and while other carmakers have succumbed to the temptation of overgrowing and bloating their successful models when they come due for replacement, the Zoom-Zoom brand has been smart enough not to mess with success. The newest MX-5, introduced in 2005, is an enhancement of the original, staying true to the concept of a small, lightweight, well-balanced roadster. And the market has responded favorably.

The Guiness Book of World Records recorded the MX-5's place in history when production had reached 531,890 in May 2000. Now that the little-roadster-that-could has hit the big 800,000 mark, Mazda says it is reapplying for an update on the record. We'll look forward to reporting when the millionth MX-5 rolls off the assembly line.

After the jump, we've got two videos of the newest MX-5 with the power retractable hard-top. Click through to witness the amazing disappearing roof act.

Source: [url=http://www.trucks.autoblog.com/2007/02/09/that-s-a-lot-of-zoom-zoom-mazda-builds-800-000th-mx-5/]Autoblog[/url]