Has Mazda built the ultimate race car with its MX-5 Cup car?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/slw2ASZfrTI?si=aIg-Wsu5s83966Fy

What’s it like to track a MX-5 Cup car? Well, thanks to a loaner from Flis Performance, the official MX-5 Cup car manufacturer, we took one out at our official test track, the FIRM, to find out.

[The Grassroots Motorsports ultimate guide to track car lap times]

How did it stack up against other cars we have …

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A keen-eyed observer will note that this car is lacking a few key components:  

1.  The nose isn't crumpled from bump-drafting 

2.  There are no tire marks scraped into the paint on either door

3.  None of the clips holding the rear valence to the body have been broken.

Conclusion:  it's a fake. 
 

Thanks for the informative video.  The MX-5 Cup is one of my favorite racing series (if not THE favorite.)  And good on Mazda for providing a financial incentive to the teams.

When Long Road Racing was the builder of these cars, they made a series of street cars called "Ultimate Miata" which were really well-sorted.  I wonder if the Flis folks would consider doing the same?

In reply to Coniglio Rampante :

Our test car did look pretty cherry and, yes, MX-5 races are just intense.  

In reply to Coniglio Rampante :

I asked Todd Flis what the highest-volume part number on the spares truck was. "Oh, front emblems. Hands down. Mazda requires them and these guys go through a LOT of them."

JG Pasterjak said:

In reply to Coniglio Rampante :

I asked Todd Flis what the highest-volume part number on the spares truck was. "Oh, front emblems. Hands down. Mazda requires them and these guys go through a LOT of them."

Track walk souvenirs... 

I would love to buy something like this for a track car. Honda/HPD makes a couple levels of Civic. Toyota has the GR86 Cup cars.  All of them are out of my budget.  The cheapest Civic is $65K. The Miatas are around $90K and the GR86 cars are (Or were) $125K.  Too much for a non-wealthy guy that just wants a well-built track toy that might also see Time-Attack and Time Trial use.

Msterbee said:

I would love to buy something like this for a track car. Honda/HPD makes a couple levels of Civic. Toyota has the GR86 Cup cars.  All of them are out of my budget.  The cheapest Civic is $65K. The Miatas are around $90K and the GR86 cars are (Or were) $125K.  Too much for a non-wealthy guy that just wants a well-built track toy that might also see Time-Attack and Time Trial use.

Or, you could replicate our Triple Threat ND project car setup...for a lot less.  Same lap time at the FIRM...1:19.7.

I'm hoping to overlay data from the two within the next couple of days.  Each has a different system (VBOX vs AIM), so I have to go through a neutral third party app.

In reply to Andy Hollis :

My point is that the factory-ish built cars are priced well beyond what even a decent middle class income can afford. But car prices in general are crazy now so I guess that shouldn't be a surprise.  I'd rather be driving than spend a bunch of time developing a car.  At the same time, I don't want someone else's beat up track toy. I do like the process of working out upgrades and all that but I'm old enough now that my priority is on the driving part.

Andy Hollis said:

Msterbee said:

I would love to buy something like this for a track car. Honda/HPD makes a couple levels of Civic. Toyota has the GR86 Cup cars.  All of them are out of my budget.  The cheapest Civic is $65K. The Miatas are around $90K and the GR86 cars are (Or were) $125K.  Too much for a non-wealthy guy that just wants a well-built track toy that might also see Time-Attack and Time Trial use.

Or, you could replicate our Triple Threat ND project car setup...for a lot less.  Same lap time at the FIRM...1:19.7.

I'm hoping to overlay data from the two within the next couple of days.  Each has a different system (VBOX vs AIM), so I have to go through a neutral third party app.

isn't the triple threat also a street car/licensed car?

the ND1 MX5 cup cars is one of my favorite cars on assetto corsa, it's easy to drive hard, very engaging, and stable/easy to recover if you overdrive it.  

Adding 30 horsepower and an extra 1000rpm can only make it better...