'Mild' yet Unmannered Mazda Miata Drags Detroit Three, Shows Them Who’s Boss

It was small, affordable, still practical, and comfortable enough to drive daily and even during long road trips. Plus – above all – it was a lot of fun even though it might look severely underpowered by today’s standards. All in all, it brought a lot of bang for the buck, which insured its legendary status and continued success.

Even today people continue to buy and cherish the pop-up iteration like a crown jewel that needs to remain untouched and unspoiled. Well, to be frank, we are not going to be talking about such people now. Instead, let us discuss the creation of the good folks who ripped apart a crimson NA example and recombined its JDM strands of DNA with something that looks like a V8 monster powertrain.

Of course, it was all for the sake of some quarter-mile dragstrip greatness, so in my humble opinion diehard enthusiasts need to stop running amok crying their outrage, and pay attention to what this little Miata has to say about crazy ETs and bonkers trap speeds. I assure you; it is well worth spending a little more than four minutes of your precious time, especially if you have a sting against the Detroit Three – as the Mopars, Blue Ovals, and GMs will get a poignant lesson about how to deal with straight-line racing!

And it is all courtesy of the videographer behind the Drag Racing and Car Stuff channel on YouTube, who has caught the feisty Mazda MX-5 Miata at his beloved BMP (Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida) during the latest Street Car Takeover event, as part of the Street Racer Mild Class shenanigans. Alas, there is nothing tame about these rides, as no one should believe that the Detroit Three representatives went down without a fight across rounds one and two, the semis, and the finals of the category.

Instead, we can start putting everything into the proper perspective right from the get-go when a dark new Edge Ford Mustang was basically left ‘standing and watching’ almost idle at the little 8.33s rascal. Round one kicks off at the 0:33 mark and the Miata duked it out with a Dodge Challenger (possibly a Redeye) that tried hard to keep up with the pocket monster. Alas, it was all in vain, given the 8.3s versus 8.49s result! Next up, round two at the 1:18 mark with the MX-5 fighting a fifth-gen S-197 Ford Mustang to the tune of an even greater 8.22 versus 8.48s victory!

Things got heated starting with the semifinals at 1:55 as the Mazda received the visit of a contemporary, crimson S550 ‘Stang that was all dragstrip business, considering the nice staging battle and the narrow 8.27s to 8.26s loss! Well, the breathtaking pace continued in the finals with another heated finish between the little monster and a much larger (yet also red) turbocharged fourth-gen Chevy Camaro. In the end, there can be only one, as always – so watch the final BMP race at 3:40 to find out who nailed the 8.21s laurels and who went home in shame due to the slower 8.25s ET!