So you want a track car? Cool, good choice. Oh, you want a Mazda Miata? Classic pick, they’ve got a great aftermarket and— oh, you want it fast, huh? Well, that’s a little harder to pull off with that chassis, but you can still make it work. Here, I’ll give you a helpful tutorial in making 800 horsepower at over 10,000 RPM.
This time attack Miata spotted at Virginia International Raceway by Larry Chen eschews turbocharging or supercharging the stock engine for something more interesting: An engine swap. But, where most owners would throw an LS under the hood, builder Joshua Briggs of Briggs Motorsports decided to change things up — throwing a K24 with an absolutely massive turbo under what’s left of the Mazda’s chopped-up hood.
Briggs claims the Miata made 800 wheel horsepower on a dyno, but that the car was slipping as it did so — its true power may be even higher. The engine is fully built, the gearbox is sequential, and the rear end is out of a CTS-V; all of which are necessary to hit these kinds of figures.
If the CTS-V rear was a surprise, there’s more Americana happening in this Miata than that. The radiator is an aftermarket unit for a Ford Falcon, the alternator is from a Chevy Blazer, and the idler pulley is Dodge — all the big three are represented.
You may question the need for 800 horsepower at 10,000 RPM on track, but I implore you to watch the video. You see those spurts of flame shooting out from the hood-mounted exhaust? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Shut up about the need. This is a want, and it’s something I want so badly to drive.