Miata

Engine swaps can be quite entertaining, especially when jamming a gigantic V8 powerhouse into a tiny 2-seater convertible. Recently, the guys at Hoonigan Daily Transmission went up close and personal with KarrMedia’s insane MX-5 Miata that manages to cram a 6.2-liter, supercharged SRT Hellcat engine under – and through – its diminutive hood.

Has there ever been a time when a little Mazda sports car hasn’t kicked ass? Sure, they may be a bit quirky, and lord knows rotary-powered platforms had their fair share of maintenance and performance faults, but dammit if they haven’t all been cool in one regard or another.

Mazda is showing off a cool new limited edition Miata that will be offered to only 400 people in the UK. The car is the MX-5 Arctic package, and it replaces all the glossy black trim with shiny silver.

Let me start out this review by saying I am most definitely an old soul. You wouldn’t know it by looking at me, but I can name for you more songs by Rosemary Clooney than is publicly acceptable.

Car artist YasidDESIGN has created an awesome rendering of a car that mashes up a ’70s style F1 are complete with Marlboro livery with a first generation Mazda Miata NA. The result is love at first sight and a car that I would love to take to the track.

I am a sucker for a Miata track car. Few things are more satisfying that putting a beat down on a Camaro or Mustang driver, from behind the wheel of a little roadster with 100 horsepower at the wheels.

The Miata is an awesome track car in stock from, but there are plenty of kit cars out there that use the bones of a Miata donor to create something more. The little monstrosity that you see here started life as a Miata and is now something else entirely.

I used to have a 1994 MX-5 Miata, known as the NA version to Miata geeks. It was an ugly, caged, turbo race car, with silly pop-up headlights. The reactions were the same at the track, lifted eyebrows and chuckles.

I get quite jealous when other writers get to drive cars I want to drive before I do. One of the cars I want to drive the most is the 2016 Mazda MX-5. I know the new model has less power than the old car offered, but anyone who has driven an MX-5 or Miata will tell you power isn’t everything.

One of the things that can be difficult to explain to someone in words is what exactly balance is when it comes to a car. I always find that it is much easier to put a student in a car, take them out on the track and let them experience what it feels like when the car is well balanced in high-G corners.

I daily drove a 2013 MX-5 Club Sport for a long time and averaged about 28mpg on the highway. In mixed city use, it was around 24mpg. The close ratio transmission in the Club Sport did nothing to help fuel economy with the car spinning above 3,000 rpm on the highway at cruising speed.

At the beginning of the month, we had a single price revealed by Mazda to give us an idea where the all-new MX-5 would fall price wise. That starting price was $24,915(USD). We know there are several variants of the car, and naturally, we wanted to know where the other prices would start.

I spent a couple years hooning a 2013 Mazda MX-5 Club Sport around the racetracks in Texas and making people with “fast” cars hate themselves. If you want to track a MX-5, the Club is the model you want.

One of the only things that we have been waiting to learn about the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 was the price. Pricing information has finally been unveiled and the car will start at a very reasonably price putting it well within reach of most buyers.

I am a big fan of the Mazda MX-5/Miata platform. I have owned several Miatas and a MX-5 over the years and driven them very hard on the track. Few things are more fun than putting a low-powered car up the tail of a “fast” car in front of you and not letting that fast car driver get away.