VERDICT:

Upgrade to 248bhp gives 2-litre version of likeable little roadster a welcome – and well judged – shot in the arm

Pro: Good value for a significant performance boost
Con: Needs care in the wet

Two-hundred and fifty horsepower isn’t a lot in the modern autosphere, but it feels like plenty when directed through the rear tyres of a car as simple and slender as a Mazda MX-5. Particularly as Northamptonshire seems to be auditioning for the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race and farm vehicles have left a thin sheen of various brown substances on the county’s B-roads.

The MX-5 in question is Brackley- based BBR GTi’s first turbocharged take on the fourth-generation model, following naturally aspirated packages for the 1.5- and 2-litre cars. The conversion is based on the larger-engined MX-5 and centres around a twin-scroll hybrid turbo, a bespoke exhaust manifold and a stainless-steel downpipe. Gases are cooled by a front-mounted aluminium intercooler, while other modifications include stainless-steel oil and water lines, custom silicone turbo pipes, a K&N high-flow induction kit and StarChip EcuTek software.

BBR describes it as a ‘Stage 1 Turbo’ package, and the result is 248bhp at 7150rpm and 236lb ft from 3250rpm – increases of 90bhp and 89lb ft over Mazda’s claims for the standard car. BBR also quotes a 0-60mph time of 5.0sec (against 7.3sec to 62mph for the unmodified car) and a 155mph limited top speed (up from 133mph).

As we’ve come to expect from BBR, everything looks like it was assembled in the factory at Hiroshima, with only a custom carbonfibre turbocharger heat shield hinting that something might be out of the ordinary under the bonnet. Externally BBR’s demonstrator also wears a Mazda body-styling kit, BBR-branded stripes and OZ Ultraleggera alloy wheels with Yokohama tyres, which collectively exude a level of menace not present in a showroom-fresh MX-5.

You’ll pay more for touches like these, but everything required to lift the MX-5 to the advertised output will set you back £5274 if you intend to fit it yourself, or £5994 if you want BBR to do it for you.

Cleverly, the car doesn’t feel transformed when you first thumb the starter button and fire up the boosted Skyactiv four-pot. Only the bassy note of this car’s BBR Supersport exhaust gives the game away, but the idle settles down to normal levels and prodding the standard clutch feels no different from doing so in any other MX-5.

If you’re not familiar with the regular car, you probably won’t notice the first subtle difference, either. With intake and exhaust gases now taking a slightly longer, more convoluted path, throttle response isn’t quite as sharp as usual, so exploratory blips of the pedal take a little longer to elicit movements on the rev-counter.

Until you pass 3000rpm, that is. That’s the point at which BBR’s car diverges from the regular MX-5, gathering pace with increasing intensity and commotion towards the red line. The engine now offers its best between 3000 and 6000rpm, with the same linearity and driveability of the standard car garnished with an audible whoosh and considerably greater forward momentum.

Combined with a firmer suspension setup, that newfound output requires circumspection on wet, greasy roads. Mazda’s standard traction control just about copes in a straight line, but around corners you’ll spend plenty of time correcting amusing but rapid spikes of oversteer even before the stability control intervenes. You can turn it off, of course, but you’d best bring your car- control A-game if you do so.

That’s not to besmirch BBR’s conversion, because it’s very well judged indeed. It’s a perfect option for a used Mk4 MX-5, though even added to a brand new one (priced from £21,595, meaning a total of £27,589) it looks pretty reasonable given you’ll have enough power to close the performance gap to almost any modern hot hatch, but in a smaller, lighter, more attractive, more involving and more entertainingly rear-driven package.

Mazda has revealed the limited-edition Z-Sport, the first current-gen MX-5 to have a coloured roof

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you what might just be the best-specced current-generation Mazda MX-5 we’ve ever seen. It’s the new ‘Z-Sport’ limited-edition model, and it’s the first ND MX-5 to have a coloured roof. To be specific, it’s ‘cherry red’ - rather like the fabric roof on ‘our’ Jaguar F-Type R - and we think it looks rather smart.

To go with that we have Machine Grey Metallic paint, 17-inch BBS wheels and ‘Sand’ leather trim in the cabin. A good combination, no?

It’s based on the ‘Sport Nav’ version of the MX-5, which means a 158bhp 2.0-litre inline-four nestles under the bonnet, a limited-slip differential is fitted up back, and Bilstein dampers live at each corner of the car. Oh, and you get a strut brace for good measure.

Want one? Unfortunately, you’ll have to live in the UK - it won’t be sold elsewhere. If you do live in this part of the world, you’d better act fast: just 300 will be made - 100 less than the 2007, NC MX-5-based Z-Sport, which had a similar spec.

It’ll be on sale from 1 March 2018, and is yours for £25,595.

Flyin' Miata - the crazed tuning firm behind the LS3 V8-powered MX-5 - has decided to strap a turbocharger and a supercharger to the ND's 2.0-litre inline-four

Wondered how Colorado tuning maniacs Flyin’ Miata could possibly top the LS3 V8-powered ND Mazda MX-5 it makes? Here’s your answer: by twin-charging the bejesus out of the car’s standard 2.0-litre inline-four.

Yep, not content with just bolting on a turbocharger from UK firm BBR GTI, Flyin’ Miata is experimenting with a setup which slots a supercharger into the mix. The turbo setup for this particular Miata on its own is - Road and Track reports - good for around 350whp, so what will be the result of it being force-fed an Edelbrock supercharger?

At this stage, it’s hard to know - the fuel system is one of several limiting factors. So what’s the car for? On the Miata.net forums, Keith Tanner of Flyin’ explained that the MX-5 RF test car was due to have its turbocharger swapped out for a supercharger as part of an R&D project, before the team changed tack and decided to trial the twin-charger setup. “We’d already talked about what we’d have to do to make a twin-charger, so we did it. We’ve known the packaging would work for months,” he said.

For now, it’s all about learning the ins and outs of the system. “We will have it up and running and we’ll learn a few things about how they interact. We’re curious as to what will happen as well,” he explained.

We’ll be watching this one with interest.

Likely in attempts to tell the entire world to shut it about the Miata needing more horsepower, Mazda is finally giving in. The updated Mazda Miata will have 181 horsepower, a 7,500-RPM redline and a telescopic steering wheel—at least, that’ll be the case in Japan.

The current Miata has 155 horsepower and weighs around the 2,400-pound mark, meaning this would bump the car up by 26 HP. That seems weak and small in the big picture, but with a car as light as the Miata, nearly 30 extra HP is a lot of power.

Road & Track noticed the power updates after seeing a writeup by Japanese outlet Car Watch after driving the new Miata. The story listed updates to the car, which include the 181-HP figure Road & Track first reported on in March after finding U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents filed by Mazda. Other updates include the higher redline and telescopic steering wheel, which means a driver can move the wheel closer to or further from the dashboard.

The Car Watch Story posted on Thursday of last week, which was the same day Mazda Japan published a press release on the updated Miata. The press release confirmed all of the updates: a 15-percent increase in power from the car’s 2.0-liter SkyActiv engine, the redline raised from 6,800 to 7,500 RPM, improved fuel economy, the telescopic steering wheel and a color change for the actual wheels.

We’re referring to the Miata as “new” in this story since neither the English translation of the Car Watch story nor the Mazda press release specifically said “2019,” but it’s probably safe to assume this is for the 2019 model year.

The odd thing is, nothing has come up on the Mazda North America media website. The last mention of the production Miata on there was April 23, in a press release about Kelley Blue Book awards. There shouldn’t be anything to worry about since Road & Track found NHTSA documents about the 181-HP U.S. Miata earlier this year, but Jalopnik still reached out to Mazda USA to make sure the omission isn’t some kind of cryptic, ultimately disappointing message on the potential of a higher-horsepower Miata in America.

A representative for Mazda, naturally, said the company can’t comment on what this means for the U.S. market right now. If we do end up with bad news, we Americans should all move. There’s nothing left for us here.

The rumors were true: Mazda's darling MX-5 Miata is getting a number of updates for the 2019 model year.

The biggest update is found under the hood, where the Miata gets a nice increase in power. Though it uses the same 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G engine as before, the 2019 MX-5 makes 181 horsepower -- an increase of 26 over the current model. Torque, meanwhile, remains unchanged at 151 pound-feet.

Mazda says this power increase is largely thanks to lighter engine internals and reductions in both friction and exhaust loss. A higher 7,500-rpm redline -- up from 6,800 -- complements this added power. Combined with a higher final drive ratio -- 3.583, up from 3.454 -- the 2019 MX-5 should be a bit quicker off the line than its predecessor. Of course, with a car like the Miata, its driving bliss has nothing to do with straight-line speed.

A few new visual enhancements will help set 2019 Miatas apart from their predecessors. Redesigned black metallic 17-inch wheels are available, as is a brown soft top.

Inside, the 2019 MX-5 gets a telescoping steering wheel, as well as a greater helping of safety tech. A backup camera is now standard (as it is on all cars moving forward), and upper trim levels now receive traffic sign recognition and Mazda's Smart City Brake Support active braking tech.

Pricing will be announced later this year, but we don't expect it to change too much. Look for the 2019 MX-5 Miata to arrive at Mazda dealers this fall.

Watching a 2018 Mazda Miata RF be driven by a skilled lunatic is always fun, but seeing one whip around in the green and orange quilting livery of Mazda’s famous Le Mans winning rotary-powered 787B is extra excellent.

This clip, which appears to have been made with the help of Prague-based performance driving school and car rental outfit Corners.cz, came into my inbox today from this tiny YouTube channel with no context.

The video is not an official Mazda production and neither is the car, Mazda’s U.S. press office confirmed, but it looks like a damn decent homage livery and the production value is pretty impressive.

Since I know there are a lot of Miata fans on Jalopnik, I’m sure many of you will remember that Mazda did officially make a 787B-styled Miata in 1991, the year the big daddy car won the big race.

Or rather, Mazda made 24 of them, which also had a turbocharger boosting the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine from 115 to 150 horsepower and torque from about 100 ft-lb to north of 150 under the unique (painted on, not a wrap) skin. “19 are still believed to be on the road,” according to Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom Magazine from 2016.

The whole reason anybody cares about this color scheme, of course, is because a race car wearing this livery won the 24 Hours Of Le Mans in 1991. That made Mazda the first Japanese manufacturer to win the race, and with a freaking rotary engine of all things.

Who says rotors can’t be reliable?