Everybody loves a Mazda Miata, also known as MX-5 in other parts of the world. It's was one of the better cars in the Need for Speed Underground series, and it's simplicity and relatively low price have made it the go-to Japanese sports car for a lot of people.
The reason it has so many fans is that it's a joy to drive. It offers a very rare mixture of rear-wheel-drive, manual transmission, and a high-revving naturally aspirated engine, all placed inside a small and agile package. And, as we've said, to top it all off, it also comes at a decent price.
But that's when we're talking about a brand-new one. An older model in good shape with some miles on its clock will sell for just a few thousand dollars, which makes it an ideal starter for a modding project.
Given the vehicle's nature, the most likely route for a Miata is either having its power boosted just for the sake of it or having it turned into a drifting machine. Well, that's precisely what makes Gingium's (real name being Caleb) rig so noteworthy.
A while back he bought a 1990 Mazda Miata - named Molly - which he proceeded to modify. He installed a turbocharger and kitted the car for drifting and some track action, but ten months ago, he started working on an idea he had been cooking for over a year.
He called it the "Rally Miata," and the name pretty much says it all. It's a khaki painted, lifted, supercharged Mazda MX-5 with a roll cage, a snorkel, a roof rack, and auxiliary lights. Oh, and a spare tire strapped to its trunk.
The sound it makes is almost as good as the way it looks, but not quite. The supercharger whirl can be heard from miles away, easily covering the engine and exhaust sounds. It almost feels as if it's an EV at times, but luckily Caleb did not go down that path.
We see the Mazda being put through its paces on a dirt road, which is what it does best. It's on a rock-crawling off-road machine, but more like a Baja-style buggy. It's good at skipping over obstacles while going at speed, not climbing over them.
All that hooning does take its toll on the Miata with one of its steering components giving in during this outing, but that doesn't take anything away from just how cool this modded Mazda is. There should be a lot more of them out on the roads and off them.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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