Stock Versus Two Supercharged Mazda MX-5 Miata Drags Make for 3 x Lots of Fun

Well, that's because Mat Watson, in particular, has a soft spot for the iconic Mazda MX-5 Miata. In between stuff like a comparison between the Rolls-Royce Cullinan vs Range Rover vs Maybach vs Bentley Bentayga vs Cadillac Escalade or races involving goodies like the Bugatti Veyron and a Red Bull F1 car, he always seems to manage to slip in a Miata drag, or two, or even three.

For example, about a month ago, he got involved with a drag race between all four generations of the legendary open-top. Then he also got turbo versus supercharged versus ITB (Individual Throttle Bodies) MX-5s on the tarmac. And that's just going back a few weeks. Now, again, we see Mat sitting in a Miata. Only this time, it's his very own pre-facelift NB Mazda MX-5. Clearly, he loves that little rascal.

To his left sits a stock NB Miata to provide the OEM benchmark from something like 2005. It's cheap as dirt and weighs nearly nothing, which is always a good thing in a drag race between RWD machines. However, Watson's second-generation MX-5 is not stock – it has a supercharger kit and some work done on the suspension plus brakes, giving it around 190 horsepower… some years ago.

Last but not least, to their right is an NC (third-gen) Mazda MX-5 Miata done by BBR with another supercharger kit and lots of hard work put into the chassis, suspension, brakes, and whatnot. In effect, it has almost 250 horsepower, and it's a genuine sports car – but also a lot more expensive than the other two combined. Actually, if we believe Mat's calculations, which we probably shouldn't, those two are twice as cheap as the BBR-tuned model.

Alas, those are money well spent because the quarter-mile drag races turn the stock and supercharged NBs into cannon fodder for the feisty NC. In the end, Mat finds the unlikely combination of a half-mile roll race in last gear to show us that he can also win a race. But when it comes to the brake test, even his upgraded NB is no match for the professionally tuned NC. In the end, what do we learn from this, aside from the fact that Mat Watson loves his Miata and is probably never going to sell it?

Frankly, we find out that MX-5s are fun in every situation – stock, supercharged, and even fully tuned all around. Now, while we wait for the 2024 Mazda MX-5 prices to come out and see if we can finance one of them, let us remember that the current ND iteration has gone through another upgrade, making it a lot more enticing – although on a subtle level – than the 2023MY that retails from $28k and almost $36k (if you choose the RF) in the United States.