The two-year-only Mazdaspeed Miata lives in a weird state of limbo–neither fish nor fowl, neither here nor there. Is it the car that Mazda should have delivered from the get-go, or is it still not quite fast enough to make that case?
What, exactly, is a Mazdaspeed Miata? Put simply, it’s the only factory-turbocharged Miata ever offered. The recipe was simple: Grab a loaded NB-chassis Miata and then add a turbo kit, six-speed transmission, revised chassis tuning, and $827 to the MSRP. Bake at the factory for two model years, then cease cooking after only 5428 units. That’s a pittance compared to production numbers for other cars, as Mazda proved when it built its millionth Miata in 2016.
What went wrong? Nothing, at least at first. In fact, the Mazdaspeed seemed like it would be a hit. Thanks to the model’s 178 horsepower, Road & Track declared it “a significantly more powerful Miata that rekindles the excitement of 1989.” Car and Driver heaped praise as well: “At the price, this car’s almost an unbeatable deal, but be aware that production is limited to just 4000 a year.”
After building those 4000 cars for the U.S. market during the 2004 model year, however, Mazda only managed to build 1428 examples for the following year due to a fire at the factory. And then 2006 brought the all-new NC-chassis Miata to market, with no turbocharged option available.
“It’s good for 189.9 horsepower and 178 lb.-ft. of torque at the rear wheels on the stock turbo.”
The Mazdaspeed’s run ended almost as soon as it started.
As our own J.G. Pasterjak remembers, that rendered it an oddball in the autocross and secondhand enthusiast market. “It didn’t really belong anywhere,” he recalls, “since it wasn’t legal in any of the classes for Miatas, and it wasn’t extreme enough to compete with the really gnarly stuff. And it was kind of clear that a few things were done to artificially boost performance, like that six-speed transmission that produced slower lap times but faster magazine performance tests.”
In a motorsports world saturated by naturally aspirated Miatas on the slower end and factory-built specials like the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evo at the faster end, there just wasn’t a home for a rare, somewhat fast Miata. After all, the Mazdaspeed Miata only beat the standard car by 35 horsepower, a number that aftermarket companies were easily exceeding with their own turbo kits.
That left the Mazdaspeed as a premium-priced oddity loved only by a handful of diehard Miata geeks.
More than 15 years later, Mazdaspeed Miata fans still carry the torch–geeks like Good-Win Racing’s own Greg Lee, who just might be the biggest Mazdaspeed Miata fan ever. He purchased this particular car in 2011 and has since turned it into his vision of the ultimate Miata.
Even more impressive: He did most of this before he started working at Good-Win, paying out of his own pocket. “I do have a melted credit card to back it up,” he notes.
What’s been done? Perhaps a better question: What hasn’t?
This car’s list of modifications reads like a parts catalog. Perhaps the biggest-ticket item: a rebuilt engine stroked to 1.9 liters of displacement featuring forged internals and an upgraded head, good for 189.9 horsepower and 178 lb.-ft. of torque at the rear wheels on the stock turbo.
That engine is paired with a pile of supporting mods, including a bigger radiator, a boost controller, a blow-off valve, a coolant re-route, an oil cooler, catch cans, and intake and exhaust parts from Good-Win Racing. There’s also a lightweight flywheel to liven up the car a bit.
Underneath, every suspension bushing is now polyurethane, while Good-Win-spec’d anti-roll bars and Feal coil-overs complete the suspension package. Greg’s track wheels are from König and measure a chunky 9 inches wide.
Sounds like a built track car, right? Actually, Greg’s new to the track world. He customized this car for street duty, as evidenced by the 41,000 miles he’s racked up since completing the build.
He’s also picked up trophies at regional shows, including a win in the Miata class at the Main Street America Car Show. As Greg says, this car is perfect for a nice day driving canyon roads, a cross-country road trip (he’s done four of those in it), or a car show with his fellow Miata enthusiasts.
“Greg has this car set up a bit loose, and we had a riot shimmying it through Willow Springs’ downhill Turn 5 each lap.”
These days, though, his aspirations are at the track, which is how we found ourselves at Willow Springs International Raceway. After pointing out every detail, from the show-winning engine bay to the perfect original paint, Greg tossed us the keys and gave us one piece of advice: “Don’t crash!”
So, how does this souped-up Mazdaspeed drive? First, the torque: It alone made us understand why the auto journalists were cooing over this car at launch. There’s none of that jockey-whipping-a-horse feeling so often experienced when tracking a Miata. Rather, this car drives like a torquey new turbocharged Fiat 124 Spider. Then we looked down at the tach and realized we already needed to shift.
We’ll just say it: Mazda picked the wrong transmission for this car. Turbos add torque and widen the powerband, so it doesn’t make much sense to pair one with this close-ratio six-speed. We missed the standard five-speed during every shift, and we encountered lots of them while rowing around Willow Springs. We’ll put some of the blame onto worn shift bushings (they were still on Greg’s to-do list), but either way it let us down.
Fortunately, the rest of the car was pure Miata–if a bit soft due to its street-optimized spring rates. Greg has this car set up a bit loose, and we had a riot shimmying it through Willow Springs’ downhill Turn 5 each lap. After a few laps, we returned the car unharmed and came away with a boring conclusion: It’s just like a Miata, but faster.
How much faster? After our hands let go of the wheel, Good-Win Racing hotshoe Ryan Passey jumped in and ran a 1:43.2 lap. A competition Spec Miata is still faster, but that’s still not half bad for a sub-200-horsepower street car on 200-treadwear tires.
So, is this car the best Miata ever made, a taste of what could have been? Or is it a one-time detour from the million-strong Miata path Mazda walked? Our answer: It depends.
If you want a turbo Miata for the track, this isn’t the answer. By the time you change the transmission and add a bigger turbo, you’d be better off saving your pennies and starting with a normal car and a modern turbo kit.
However, if you want a unique Miata that makes a fantastic street car, there are few better choices than a tastefully modified Mazdaspeed Miata like this one.
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The data is clear: Head-and-neck restraints save lives by preventing basilar skull fractures, and after a few notable incidents (including Dale Earnhardt’s death), they’re now mandatory in almost every form of wheel-to-wheel racing, from the 24 Hours of Lemons to Formula 1.
But what about track days? Though the safety requirements are much more lenient, the walls are just as hard and the speeds just as high. That’s why we wear our head-and-neck restraint as often as possible, operating under the mantra that it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Unfortunately, many track cars, like this Mazdaspeed Miata, only have the factory three-point seatbelt, rendering a traditional head-and-neck restraint useless. That’s why we wore the Simpson Hybrid S for this test. It works everywhere. The SFI and FIA approvals mean that we can wear it in our real race cars, but this one is also proven effective when paired with only a three-point seatbelt. And it’s comfortable, too, even for those sporting titanium hardware in their collarbones.
The only downside might be the price. At $1095, it costs twice as much as an entry-level HANS Device, but after wearing it during this track session, we’re converts. After all, $1095 is way cheaper than an ambulance ride or a funeral.
The biggest problem with the MSM was that while the MSRP may have only been $800 more, the dealers were charging $5-10K in markup vs normal Miatas selling at invoice.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
I bought mine below MSRP. Just told the guy flat out that I already had several other cars and didn't need this one. I would buy it for my price or just walk out. I may be putting mine up for sale since I no longer have gainful employment and it mostly just sits in the garage.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:The biggest problem with the MSM was that while the MSRP may have only been $800 more, the dealers were charging $5-10K in markup vs normal Miatas selling at invoice.
Really?
I bought mine brand new. We all went to Irvine Mazda headquarters for the NC reveal.
those of us who didn't like th NC1, came home and bought the MSM. Locally 04s and 05s were on dealer lots unsold. (Even with the factory fire and low output)
local newspapers had 8-10$k off msrp like all miatas in history (except the first year na).
My sticker was 27k. I paid $18,900 brand new for my msm.
bunch of us on the msm forum (Before miata net had the msm section), all paid between 8-10k under msrp
mr2s2000elise said:codrus (Forum Supporter) said:The biggest problem with the MSM was that while the MSRP may have only been $800 more, the dealers were charging $5-10K in markup vs normal Miatas selling at invoice.
Really?
I bought mine brand new. We all went to Irvine Mazda headquarters for the NC reveal.
those of us who didn't like th NC1, came home and bought the MSM. Locally 04s and 05s were on dealer lots unsold. (Even with the factory fire and low output)
When they first came out, yes. 2 years later, after nobody had bought them (you could buy an S2000 for less), they were lingering on dealer lots and finally got firesaled when the NC was out. That's why they had both 04s and 05s.
I bought my 04 msm 2005 August at Thousand Oaks mazda. . 05s were rolling in, and 05s were $6500 off msrp locally right off the boat.
My 2007 s2000 msrp was 33,000
I paid 29,000 at pacific Honda
there was a $10,000 delta between my s2000 and my msm.
I don't have anything useful to add to this thread besides "I love mine!"
I've ditched the boat anchor wheels and replaced them with 15s since I took this pic.
Yeah, they sold poorly. The Neon SRT4 was a big reason for that. Those who bought new benefited from an increase in value as the NC was introduced and the aftermarket unlocked the car's potential.
One thing missing from the story is that Mazda was originally going to go to the aftermarket like they did with the Mazdaspeed Protege. RFPs were put out with the brief to be faster than an S2000.
Then the MSP debacle happened. Mazda decided they needed full control over the Mazdaspeed cars so the MX-5 was done in-house. There were a lot of little changes you wouldn't t have seen on an aftermarket car, such as a change to bigger splines on the diff and a new mixing manifold for the water pump. It even ditched the 2004 VVT engine and went back to 1999 spec. I'd like to think that no aftermarket shop would have signed off on that gearing combo, though.
It's been a good car for us overall. It was easy to bring up to 200 rwhp and was reliable there. Pushing much past that and it becomes more affordable to turbo a normal NB.
In reply to BenB (Forum Supporter) :
shes beautiful!!
Yup I put new coil overs, debadged, tinted windows, hardtop, 9lb volk te37 15s, 7 days after it came from the dealership . Though unlike yours, mine has never been topless.
Here's mine:
My theory: The performance specs in the magazines hurt sales. The gearing was so short, the 0-60 times were relatively low. Why not get an s2000 instead? Everyone was losing their mind over the 9k redline, and meanwhile the MSM was “slow.”
The SRT Neon and other hot compacts were much faster too. People interested in performance cars had a lot of other options at the time that all sounded sexier.
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