The Mazda MX-5 Miata is going to go down in history as one of the high points in small cars. A Japanese love letter to British roadsters of the past, the Miata and it’s staying power are courtesy of making a four-cylinder, two-passenger roadster smart and reliable. It’s highly unlikely that “cute” was ever in the vocabulary of the designers, but unfortunately, the Miata did develop the reputation of either the old couple’s post-retirement toy, or the cute chick car, or as TopGear liked to refer to it, “the hairdresser’s car”…and you can read between the lines for that one.
The thing is, the Miata is actually a proper little car. It’s just underpowered for BangShift’s tastes. And we aren’t too disparaging on that subject…search YouTube and you’ll find plenty of videos of Miatas handing Mustangs, Camaros and other, more powerful machinery their rear ends on silver platters thanks to a combination of moderate power and excellent driving dynamics. In the hands of a skilled driver a Miata can really put a kink in someone’s day on a track or an autocross. It’s not hard to cram more power into one, either…you can turbocharge the four-banger and there are swap kits for LS engines and Ford small-blocks. But there isn’t a kit to jam a 6.2L Hellcat Hemi into the Miata.
707 horsepower at the crank is what…650-ish at the wheels? And it’s a six-speed car, too. Dumping the clutch in second should always be referred to as “spin cycle” because the whole world is going to do a 360 degree spin while you figure out if you are excited or scared. I want to keep making jokes about something small and cute that will both freak you out and set every last element you have on fire, but they will be in bad taste…
I REALLY LIKE small sports cars with V8s in them (have a ’64 MGB/SBC combo), but the last thing mine needs is several hundred more horsepower. I do love that somebody did this (had to be done) and I do know of a MGB with a 632ci BBC in it that’s a driver in NYC. Yep, EVERYTHING needs a V8! Too much is about enough.
I completely agree with you MGBChuck.