A new arrival to our restoration workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is my very own 2000 Mazda MX5 Jasper Conran Edition. The car has sat unloved and off the road for a few years but now, I’m on a mission to get the car back out on the streets with the help of a few parts and some after hours help from our incredible group of technicians to give guidance, lend a hand or do jobs that are simply out of my skillset.
This car, I affectionately call Elvira, is number 96 of just 400 ‘Brilliant Black’ special editions made for the UK market in collaboration with fashion designer Jasper Conran. It has a whole list of difference between these cars and a standard 2nd generation MX5 such as the Black Connolly leather interior, Black Wilton carpets, leather door panels, silver and black 2-spoke Nardi steering wheel, dials, binnacle and vents as well as one-off 15-inch wheels designed by BBS specifically for this. The underpinnings are from the 1.8S NB MX5 with a 1.8-litre twin-cam 4 cylinder engine, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential.
