I was having a discussion with Bruce60 about the mysteries of the Gleneagles edition through private messaging since he's selling a very nice looking example of one and I hoped he may be able to help with my questions. I figured I'd turn it into a public thread so other people can chime in.
Basically there appears to be quite a lot of misinformation out there about the car and I can't help but be intrigued by all the contrasting information I've seen online. A good example is this site:
It says that the gear knob and handbrake should be wood effect to match the rest of the car, then shows the standard black plastic gear knob and handbrake. It also says the Gleneagles has a special 4-spoke steering wheel with walnut centre logo but every image I've seen online of Gleneagles all have a three spoked Nardi Personal with a black carbon effect centre.
I actually came across an old for sale ad on some site somewhere (lost it now) where the seller was told their Gleneagles wasn't a genuine one because of it not having the 4 spoke steering wheel and because it was green (but of course Montego blue likes to look green).
In addition to this I also found a quote online saying they came with a "Blue mohair roof with Gleneagles motif, glass rear window." but this isn't mentioned in the brochure and try as I might I have yet to find a single image with the blue soft top. I also read it came with a colour matched Montego Blue hard top (with heated window?).
So I wondered if anyone had a Gleneagles from new/nearly new and whether it did sport a blue mohair roof with glass rear window and Gleneagles motif and if so, do you have any old photos (since as Bruce60 rightly said in our discussion it's unlikely there are many if any left with the original soft top) to see what it actually looked like and where the motif actually was.
My Gleneagles, has the three spoke steering wheel with the Gleneagles Logo in the middle, I have not seen any other type except on the Mazda pamphlet. I also have looked at many Gleneagles and found none with the wooden effect Gear knob and Handbrake.
The colour is Montego Blue but it almost always looks green, except in bright sunlight.
For the record, the Gleneagles was imported by MCL (Mazda Cars Ltd.) an independent UK importer and distributor up to around 2001/2002 - exact date not known. All prior SE’s were done in the UK by MCL, and the only man who knows anything is Mark Fryer, who used to work for MCL and is now an independant service mechanic working in Chatham (Freelance Mazda UK) Basic cars came in, SE’s came out.
I suspect many original owners were responsible for changing anything that needed, or could be changed over the years, this applies to any SE which varies from original MCL release. We still do this, wishing to make the car more personal to our taste, each to his own. If someone wishes to restore an SE to it’s original state then they could have a problem IMHO.
Bourne Road Mazda are the only dealer in the UK who stores this information, based on original brochures, and they’ve answered a few questions from me and others over the years. Andrew Fearon - the Club Archivist also has most SE brochures - which he guards with his life, so he can probably substantiate any queries. Bourne Road Mazda is quicker - - - -.
i worked at a Mazda dealership when the gleneagles was released, all had the three spoke steering wheel with carbon, standard black gear knob and handbrake, standard black vinyl roof with plastic window and hardtop optional extra.
Have to admit I never expected this topic to be revived, but it’s good to hear the responses as they’ve confirmed what my own research was pointing towards. I wonder who ended up with the one off brochure example in the end…
As to Gerryn’s comment about restoration, the main problem with the GE is the tartan is a protected design and also (as far as I can gather from the web) is only used on the kilt of the doorman and nowhere else in the hotel.
As it’s protected (just like the mx5oc tartan) no tartan seller will even sell you a swatch without you first getting proof of permission for the use of the tartan from the owner of the tartan. The hotel’s shop did pass on my request for a swatch to re-do the gaiter to the relevant department but after that response I heard nothing from them (my gaiter had been replaced with a leather one by a previous owner).
In the end I bought a £3~ swatch of 11oz tartan and covered over the leather, looks much better with a tartan gaiter and because it’s blue/green it matches the colour changing Montego Blue:)
That said a previous owner also put in a walnut effect drink holder in place of the ashtray and double din radio, so probably to revert mine to fully standard would only involve tracking down a clarion cassette player and buying the ashtray and lower din plate again (but I don’t plan on doing so).
Also mine has the special edition, go faster, rear wheel arch air intake holes
I took the centre console and tomb stone out as I wasn’t a big fan of the wood effect. It’s wrapped in bubble wrap in my garage as I know it’s a key part to the integrity of this limited edition.
Mine has:
Wood effect centre console + Tomb stone
Black gear know and handbrake
3 spoke carbon effect steering wheel
Black roof with zip on plastic rear window
Cream roof cover
Tartan service book cover
Power steering
No ABS
No Aircon
Ronal limited edition wheels (as seen on the Merlot)
Claron CD player
It also has electric windows but i don’t think these were part of the original spec.