Simpson Design Crafts Euro-Styled Mazda Miatas

Jim Simpson's coachbuilding shop on Whidbey Island, Washington, transforms Mazda Miatas into Italian-inspired sports cars called Italias. The proprietor has built more than 200 of these vehicles, which are inspired by 1960s Italian etceterini but are not replicas.

His journey into coachbuilding began decades ago with a unique project. He owned two rare, Michelotti-styled Lancia-based cars commissioned by Nardi, known as Blue Ray I and II. In the early 1990s, he created a third car for the set, Blue Ray III, using the mechanicals from a Mazda 929 sedan. Mazda was so impressed with this creation that the company sent him a new NA-generation Miata and asked him to "do something interesting."

The Birth of the Italia

The designer's response was to sketch a design inspired by the Ferrari Daytona Spyder, applying its sharp-nosed look to the Miata chassis. He called this first car the Miami Roadster. When he displayed it at the Concorso Italiano event in Monterey next to a real Daytona, he reported that an attendee called it "cute." He viewed it not as a fake Ferrari but as a small sports car with aspirational styling.

This philosophy defines the shop's work. The company does not make replicas or tributes but instead reinterprets classic shapes. The process is traditional: the owner sketches designs, crafts scale models, hand-shapes the body in steel, and then creates molds for fiberglass production. The resulting Italia coupe is based on the original NA Mazda Miata and weighs about 60 pounds less than a stock MX-5.

A Practical Coachbuilt Car

One of the shop owner's personal Italia coupes has covered over 160,000 miles and is used for daily errands. The interior features leather bucket seats from Beck, a replica Porsche parts specialist. Hagerty notes the closest equivalent to this business is the Japanese automaker Mitsuoka, which also uses coachbuilding techniques to create unusual cars from modern platforms.

Over the years, the operation has expanded the Italia range with variants inspired by designs from Zagato and Pininfarina. All are underpinned by the reliable Mazda Miata mechanicals. A current project in the shop is an Italia GTZ, commissioned by a client.

Restoration and Other Projects

Coachbuilding custom cars is only a part of the Whidbey Island operation. The business primarily focuses on the restoration of vintage automobiles to show condition. The founder is a designer but was first a master mechanic, having apprenticed under two strict technicians in Texas named Herman Krause and Hasso Schroeder. He credits their demanding standards for his proficiency.

The shop and surrounding sheds house his eclectic personal collection, which includes a Saab Sonett, a TVR, an Isuzu 117, a first-generation Nissan Silvia, and a Mazda Cosmo. Among his own creations parked there is the Swift, a lightweight car on a bespoke tube-frame chassis using Miata subframes and a 1.8-liter engine.

Another personal project is a replica of the fictional Mach V from the Speed Racer cartoon, featuring a twin-carburetor setup on a Mazda four-cylinder engine. Parked outside are several Italia variants and the original Miami Roadster, each an American-made example of the etceterini spirit, hand-built, joyful, and raise a beloved roadster.