Photo: Hirade Bankin
We've developed a craving for Miatas with radical face changes. Is that weird? Most will say yes, but when we find an NA MX-5 that's unlike anything else in the world, we feel the urge to share it.
This crazy contraption has been floating around the Miata image boards for a couple of weeks. But we didn't want to share just a couple of low-resolution images. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a link from the seller, because as you can imagine, Google isn't much help in this situation.
The car itself is a 1993 Miata. We believe the new front end is adapted from the Pit Crew bumper we've already shown you a couple of times. The listing says the car is for sale at Hirade Bankin in Aichi, Japan. The total price appears to be a million yen, or a steep $9,200.
We believe the design is supposed to copy a classic Triumph sports car from the 50s or early 60s. The TR3 is the closest match, though the TR2 and TR4 are pretty close. It's also possible they copied the Austin-Healey 3000 or indeed any British sports car with bug eyes... like the 1960 Austin Bugeye.
Those aren't exactly household names, but it's no secret that the Mazda Miata's horse-and-rider connection to the road is inspired by these tiny vintage roadsters. The Japanese builder went the extra mile by also covering the interior wood veneer and cream leather. All that's missing is the smell of cigarettes and brandy for the full 50s experience.
What's amazing is that for this kind of tuning money, you could have a really-clean, rust-free NA that's probably going to appreciate in value. But we still want to award full points for originality.
The car itself is a 1993 Miata. We believe the new front end is adapted from the Pit Crew bumper we've already shown you a couple of times. The listing says the car is for sale at Hirade Bankin in Aichi, Japan. The total price appears to be a million yen, or a steep $9,200.
We believe the design is supposed to copy a classic Triumph sports car from the 50s or early 60s. The TR3 is the closest match, though the TR2 and TR4 are pretty close. It's also possible they copied the Austin-Healey 3000 or indeed any British sports car with bug eyes... like the 1960 Austin Bugeye.
Those aren't exactly household names, but it's no secret that the Mazda Miata's horse-and-rider connection to the road is inspired by these tiny vintage roadsters. The Japanese builder went the extra mile by also covering the interior wood veneer and cream leather. All that's missing is the smell of cigarettes and brandy for the full 50s experience.
What's amazing is that for this kind of tuning money, you could have a really-clean, rust-free NA that's probably going to appreciate in value. But we still want to award full points for originality.
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