zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
For $10,000, Is This MX-5 A Me-Ought-A?
For $10,000, Is This MX-5 A Me-Ought-A?-January 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:10:11

While not quite small enough to be a petri dish, Mazda's littlest sports car certainly does engender experimentation. With its RB25, today's MX-5 is a willing research subject, but will its price prove that where there's a will there's a way?

So far this week BMWs have gone two for two. That is we had a Baur-topped 323i on Monday and yesterday a with more miles on it than the . Both Bimmers also fell to substantial Crack Pipe losses, maintaining consistency but probably causing our friends at to pour out a 40 in honor of the fallen.

Much like a four-door Cinderella, BMW's 7-series has never been invited to the M-Car ball.…

The movie Skyline is a special effects tour de farce in which alien interlopers modify people for their own nefarious purposes. The fact that the people the film chose to focus upon were a bunch of characterless Gen-X hipsters meant you might just have rooted for the aliens. In contrast, today's has been invaded by an engine out of a Nissan Skyline and the video of its dyno run sounds pretty damn special effect-ie.

You want to listen to that again? That's okay, we'll wait.

The ad claims that wonderful noise comes from a Nissan RB25det, which has been stealthily slipped beneath the Mazda's hood and puts out what is said to be 300 horsepower at the wheels. That's apparently backed up by the Nissan five-speed, and there's a whole bunch of stuff from the Greddy catalog along for the ride. That ride so far means 125K on the car overall - and 50K on the monster Nissan. That means 150K tot. . . wait, that's not right. Nevermind.

Outside, the car's typical second gen Miata, which sadly means fixed lights like everybody else, but this one in black does have a somewhat sinister appeal. Maybe that stems from the dark tinted Rotas and riveted plastic ground effects applied to the car's lower half. Inside it's a little less tidy, the underdash looking like Medusa's bobbing the knob down there. Stock seats, some curiously placed extra gauges, and a roll bar wrap up the cabin tour.

The seller says that his mechanic will no longer work on the car, forcing the sale. That's one of the oddest reasons I think I've ever heard, but peek under the hood shows that completion may have proved too daunting a task for the wrencher. Still, that means the car is not complete and in fact the ad notes that neither the speedo nor tach is presently hooked up making potential Youtube videos of pegged needles less thrilling because no matter how balls out you'd be going, they'd still be pegged at zero. There's also some nonsense about needing to fabricate exhaust and A/C, but there's too little detail in the ad, and it already sounds pretty wicked in the videos.

As noted, the MX-5 is a perfect platform for such experimentation, and the two and a half litre RB25 seems to slot under its hood like it was meant to be there. The question of course, is whether anyone is meant to spend $10,000 on this molotov of a Miata. What do you think, does that price make this an MX-5 with an impressive Skyline? Or, is this an experiment that should have stayed in the lab?

You decide!

or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to Ken Sangster for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
At $3,800, Could This 1994 Lincoln Continental Be A True Executive Perk?
At $3,800, Could This 1994 Lincoln Continental Be A True Executive Perk?
Today’s Continental represents one of the last gasps of traditional American automotive luxury. That may make it an oddity today, but with a solid presentation and that old school kitsch, perhaps its asking price will overcome the odds of being too old-school for 2020 shoppers. Before we take a...
Jan 13, 2026
The Lease Payments On A Bugatti Chiron Sport Will Make Your Head Spin
The Lease Payments On A Bugatti Chiron Sport Will Make Your Head Spin
Whether you are on board with the concept of vehicles or think it’s a terrible financial decision, you may be curious to know what the payment numbers would look like on one of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars. recently broke down the numbers on a YouTuber’s experience...
Jan 13, 2026
At $6,900, Would You Make A Pass At This 2000 VW Passat 4Motion Wagon?
At $6,900, Would You Make A Pass At This 2000 VW Passat 4Motion Wagon?
Today’s Passat 4Motion has done less than 2,000 miles a year over the course of its life. Let’s see if that makes it worth digging into your life’s savings to buy it. If you think about Lincoln these days, you probably picture one of its surprisingly competent SUVs or...
Jan 13, 2026
Someone Help Me Figure Out What The Hell Is Going On With This Swiss Camaro
Someone Help Me Figure Out What The Hell Is Going On With This Swiss Camaro
When it comes to things I think of as “,” I’d have to say Chevy Camaros are pretty down low on the list, between nachos and Kabuki theater. That may be why o fascinating: first, it’s in Switzerland, and B., it’s so very strangely customized that I’m genuinely baffled....
Jan 13, 2026
2021 Genesis GV80: First Drive
2021 Genesis GV80: First Drive
Genesis may have arrived late to the SUV party, but at least it can pull off fashionably late. This beautiful vehicle is in the real world now, after a slight delay due to COVID-19, and it is in a good position to plug a hole in the Genesis lineup...
Jan 13, 2026
Should An Older Couple Buy Or Lease When They Foresee Giving Up Driving?
Should An Older Couple Buy Or Lease When They Foresee Giving Up Driving?
As Jalopnik’s resident car-buying expert and a professional car shopper, I get emails. Lots of emails. I’ve picked a few of your questions and will try to help out. This week we are discussing whether or not an older couple should buy or lease what will likely be their...
Jan 13, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved