“Miata is always the answer!” If I’ve heard this once, I’ve heard it a million times, usually from people who don’t have to worry about the interior space of Mazda’s little roadster. I’m not picking on the Miata at all. No, seriously, I’m not: Mazda built their take on a classic British roadster, it got popular, it’s proven itself in racing, and they’ve managed to stay inexpensive and fun for legions of fans worldwide. You can’t knock that…even if it’s visual style can best be described as “cute”. Many people avoid the Miata like the plague because they have some insecurity issue regarding the car’s appearances, but screw it…we’ve seen everything from LeMons racers to Miatas with some seriously stout V8 swaps that inspire evil thoughts in our heads. If you can’t make a Miata work for you, it’s because you didn’t give the car a fair shot. Or you can’t fit in it.
In BangShifter terms, what is a Miata good for…besides the V8 swap? Autocross, road coursing, anything involving a small car for lots of fun, and rally racing immediately come to mind, but what about off-roading? And no, not the kind that crosses over with rally. Any rear-drive car can be a riot on a fire road, but we are talking sloppy mud, rolling hills, forest type off-roading that you will encounter in the northern half of Illinois. Will a Miata make it through that kind of scenery without sinking halfway to China, bashing out it’s radiator and core support on the first ditch, or getting stuck every four seconds? This one can, hacked wheelwells, three inch lift kit, 27″ Maxxis tires and all. What do you think…cool or no?
A friend of mine came up with the off-roadster. His car was featured on the cover of GRM. Its a real, deal rig and he runs 31″ tires on it. It’s also running a turbo so….
Paco Motorsports if you are interested.
I’ve seen that one in person. It looks like a lot of fun. One of the most amusing things is how everyone things it’s a trar. It isn’t, but it sure looks like one.
As a long time fan and racer of Miatas, I am reminded of the statement…
“The answer to everything, is Miata.”
I love it! Someone needs to figure out how to take one of these on Cheap Truck Challenge just to mess with those guys.
I’ve hit jumps with my lifted Miata so I would say it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities
I ran a Toyota Celica GTS in a ‘Tough Truck’ competition and got 6th place.
5 sand rails got 1st threw 5th. The guys in street driven 4×4’s idling over the jumps didn’t score as high. BTW I actually broke my right ankle on the ‘suicide’ jump when the front end bent up and the firewall folded in. I have pictures of it someplace. $25 buck car, sold the seats for $20 bucks to a buddy with a AE86 Corolla GTS (same seats). Then crushed it for a profit.