Mazda Reveals Poppy Art Car On A 1995 MX-5 Mk1

Mazda UK has unveiled a third poppy "art car" built with Mission Motorsport, this time wrapping a 1995 Mk1 Mazda MX-5 in a bespoke remembrance livery. The reveal happened at Thruxton Circuit during Media Day for the 2026 Race of Remembrance.

The heritage MX-5 won't race the full endurance event. Instead, it will run demonstration laps at Anglesey Circuit in North Wales, where the 12th Race of Remembrance takes place from November 6 to 8, 2026, in aid of Mission Motorsport's work with the Armed Forces community.

Mazda's Third Poppy Art Car For The 2026 Race Of Remembrance

Mazda MX-5 Mk4 Poppy Art Car By Mission Motorsport

Photo by: Mazda

The Mk1 MX-5 joins a lineage that started in 2015, when a Mazda MX-5 Mk4 race car carried the first poppy livery into competition. A second car followed in 2024, an e-Skyactiv MX-30 R-EV course car dressed in the same remembrance motif for that year's race.

Mission Motorsport's vehicle-wrap team designed and applied the new livery on the Mk1, turning a 1.8-liter heritage roadster into a rolling tribute rather than a static display piece. The car will tour motoring and veterans' events across the country both before and after the November race weekend.

Jeremy Thomson, managing director of Mazda Motors UK, called the result "a sobering reminder of the sacrifices and bravery of our service personnel and their families." He described the livery as respectful and stunning in equal measure.

Mission Motorsport's Role In The Mazda Art Car

Mazda MX-30 R-EV Poppy Art Car By Mission Motorsport

Photo by: Mazda

Mission Motorsport was founded in 2012 to help veterans and serving personnel affected by injury or illness find purpose through motorsport. Mazda UK has supported the charity since those early days, and that partnership now includes three distinct poppy art cars created over 11 years.

Alex Atherton, Mission Motorsport's managing director, said Mazda "has been an incredible supporter of Mission Motorsport, helping us create opportunities for those affected by military service through the power of motorsport" across 15 years of partnership.

The charity's wrap team does not just apply graphics. Choosing where the poppy pattern sits on each car, how it interacts with the bodywork, and what era of Mazda design turns each build into a different visual statement about remembrance.

Mazda's involvement fits a broader pattern of the brand using its design language for projects beyond standard showroom cars, something the automaker has relied on with past concept reveals and motorsport liveries alike.

Gallery: Mazda MX-5 Mk1 Poppy Art Car By Mission Motorsport

41

Source: Mazda

The Race Of Remembrance And Its Theme

The 12th Race of Remembrance is a 12-hour endurance race held across the November 6 to 8 weekend at Anglesey Circuit. Racing is split into three parts. Saturday's session starts at 3:00 p.m. and runs into darkness until 10:00 p.m., before an overnight halt and a Sunday restart at 9:00 a.m.

At 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, the circuit falls silent for a Remembrance service in the pit lane. The race pauses while more than 1,000 people pay their respects, and the win goes to whoever posts the fastest aggregate time across the race's segments rather than a single uninterrupted stint.

The race itself raises funds for Mission Motorsport's ongoing work, and the poppy art cars serve as a visible thread connecting that mission to the paddock. Fans attending Anglesey this November will see the Mk1 MX-5 running demonstration laps alongside the main endurance field.

Beyond the circuit, the car's tour schedule means it will appear at other motoring and veterans' gatherings through the rest of the year, extending the livery's reach past a single race weekend at Anglesey.

More Art Cars:

MSCHF Bends Two Lexus SUVs Into Impossible Sculptures, Lexus Calls Them Art

Alpine Teases The Next A110 Sports Car With A Design Sculpture

All 20 BMW Art Cars Are Finally Together In One Place

This Porsche 911 GT3 Art Car Deserves to Be in a Collection