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2016 Mazda MX-5 / Miata to Be Raced in Global Cup Series

At this year’s SEMA show, the makers of the best-selling two-seater sports car in the world announced the 2016 Mazda MX-5 will be raced in a Global Cup series in North America, Europe and Asia. That spartan-looking MX-5 ND in the video and gallery below will be the weapon of choice of the series.
2016 Mazda MX-5 / Miata Global Cup Racecar 30 photos
Photo: Mazda
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The Japanese brand tells that its fourth-generation MX-5 / Miata in Global Cup series clothes will delete a lot of pounds thanks to a drastic diet. As you can see for yourself in the images below, there’s no fabric roof anymore, the passenger seat and sound deadening materials have been deleted, and there’s a cool carbon fiber steering wheel incorporating a digital monochrome display in there as well.

Nevermind the white-painted roll cage or the extra large rearview mirror. The most extreme weight-saving comes in the form of red pieces of string that hang out from slots where the 2016 Mazda MX-5 / Miata ND normally has its interior door handles. Coupled to the racy exterior visual enhancements, the Global Cup series roadster is pretty special for those track junkies that prefer a stick over an automatic.

No words on weight, power figures and such

Without any proper information on those, we can only tell you we do know from Mazda that under the hood you can find the 2-liter four-cylinder SkyActiv-G four-cylinder gasoline-fed powerplant. Without any information available at the moment on the production model’s oomph, we can tell you to expect at least 155 ponies and 150 lb-ft (203 Nm) of torque, numbers a bit higher than the Mazda3's 2-liter mill.

“We’re excited to take the elements of success of the existing Cup series, and introduce them to a new global audience,” explains Masahiro Moro, managing executive officer in charge of Global Sales, Marketing and Customer Service for Mazda. “It has long been our goal to see Mazda fans around the world competing in identical MX-5s, and the launch of the 2016 MX-5 Miata is the perfect time to make this goal a reality.”

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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