If you lap the Nurburgring and happens to notice an NC-generation Mazda Miata growing in your rear-view mirror, you might be dealing with Robert Serwanski. You know, the Koenigsegg factory driver who loves to blitz the Ring in his personal MX-5.
Those who are unfamiliar with Serwanski's track training habits might be surprised to see his flying from one rumble-strip to another in a machine that packs seven to eight times less power than your current production Angleholm hypercars.
In fact, the driver does mention the massive output switch in the description of his latest Green Hell experience, which took place last week.
"Finally, after 3,5 years on jackstands, here is a lap in my Mazda MX-5 NC 2,0 Sport Roadster Coupé.This trip was seen as a "shake-down" trip for both the driver and the car. The car was freshly put together after some modifications and the driver had a looooong pause from driving low powered cars," the steering wheel wielder explained.
As you can imagine, Serwanski's lap can be used as a free performance driving lesson and one aspect that stands out in particular has to do with how smooth his inputs are. Keep in mind that the 07:49 time refers to the Bridge to Gantry layout of the Ring, not the full track.
As for the ex-generation Miata around the driver, we're looking at a machine that mixes an output bump to around 185 hp with a scale footprint of 1,100 kg.
Driver mod aside, the most important tuning bits fitted to the MX-5 include 225/45 16 street-legal track tires, custom coilovers with 13/7 springs, a heavy-duty braking system, a light flywheel, as well as carbon fiber bits (the fixed roof and the seats).
Surprisingly, the rear diff is still an open piece, while the clutch comes in factory stock trim.
So, does this have anything to do with Koenigsegg's anticipated Nurburgring record attempt return (the One:1 development car crashed during the 2016 attempt)? We hope the answer is a big, fat yes.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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