The Mazdaspeed Miata; Factory Performance.

The Mazda Miata, revolutionized and reinvigorated the roadster, the classic two seat convertible sports car formula. When Mazda debuted the Miata in 1989, it was an enthusiast breakthrough: it was quick, handled like a dream, and best of all, it was reliable. Critics praised the styling, handling, and its overall fun to drive quality. However, some also complained about the power, or rather, the lack thereof. In 1990, the Miata had a 4 cylinder engine making a mere 116HP at 6,500 RPM, and 100 ft-lbs of torque at 5,500 RPM. In short, it was slow, and both critics and enthusiasts wanted more power. In response to this, during the Miata’s first generation, from 1990-1998, the standard powertrain was upgraded, but it wasn’t enough. Then in 1999, Mazda released the second generation Miata. This new Miata had 140HP at 6,500 RPM, and 119 ft-lbs of torque at 5,500 RPM. Once again, critics and owners loved the car, but they still wanted more power to match the looks and handling. While a handy owner could add some horses by tuning the ECU, turbo, and supercharging, the results, while often thrilling, generally rendered the car unreliable because some components can’t handle the stresses of the power increase (ask Alex how that worked.) Finally, in 2005, Mazda properly delivered on the clamoring of fans, with a new Miata produced by Mazda’s performance division, Mazdaspeed. They called it, fittingly enough, the Mazdaspeed Miata.

The new Mazdaspeed Miata (MSM) came with 17 in. aluminum wheels (2 pounds lighter than the normal Miata wheels,) a beefier exhaust, upgraded suspension, bigger front and rear anti-roll bars, Bilstein shocks, firmer springs, and a lower ride height, all of which composed a fine package indeed. But the single biggest change to the MSM over the standard Miata was the inclusion of a new turbocharger. Mazda had experimented with turbos in the past, in the Mazdaspeed Protégé, which is an good car in its own right. The engineering and components were provided by Callaway, an automotive high performance specialty company perhaps best known for modifying Corvettes. Mazda decided to engineer this new high performance Miata with Mazdaspeed exclusively, perhaps fearing a mistake that might dampen the success of the standard Miata. However, results looked good: the new turbocharged Miata boosted horsepower to 178, with 166 pound feet of torque. This sent the MSM from 0-60 in 6.7 seconds, well over a second faster than the than standard Miata, and at 93MPH in the quarter mile, it came in a whole second faster than the standard Miata too. Best of all, since the Miata is renowned for it’s handling and composure in tight turns, did all the extra power dampen the handling? Not at all: critics found that the MSM handled just as well, if not better than the standard Miata! Motor Trend pushed the MSM though its Slalom course at an average of 67MPH, once again faster than the standard Miata. Road and Track also noted that the MSM retained its “toss and catch handling or with less roll and more grip.” The only complaint with the MSM was that the turbo came on high, around 6000 RPM, with a redline at 6500 RPM, while Mazda did design the turbo to start spooling sooner, the turbo only had 7ish PSI. Some critics found this too small, and the boost too late in the rev range. But overall, the Mazdaspeed Miata was a hit with critics, and more importantly, their owners loved them.

However, it was not to last. Although the Mazdaspeed Miata was a hit with critics and owners alike, boasting more horsepower and better handing, it was only around for the 2005 model year. But why? For the 2006 model year, Mazda debuted a whole new generation Miata, featuring a complete redesign and a brand new powertrain. The new car had a 5-speed manual, and the engine made 170HP and 140 pound feet of torque. While the torque figure isn’t as high as the MSM, the horsepower figure is awfully close. Another reason the MSM was dropped is that by this time, Ford owned around 33% of Mazda stock, so before Mazda did pretty much anything they had to get permission from Ford as a major stockholder. Perhaps Mazda felt it would have been too much work to fight for that permission. Another reason is Mazdaspeed was busy with the engineering and design of the new Mazdaspeed3, a hot hatch that would hit the market in 2007. The Miata may be popular, but it is destined to be a low volume seller. The Mazda3, and thus the Mazdaspeed3, are just more practical cars, and Mazda was banking on that fact to move more units off the lot. Lastly, the Mazdaspeed Miata was more of a special edition Miata anyway, designed to revive interest in the Miata before the NC launched in 2006. The MSM succeeded in getting auto journalists talking about the Miata again, which by this time had been around for 15 years. Now with the Miata fresh again in the minds of journalists and consumers alike, Mazda gave us a better and more powerful Miata standard. In the end, the MSM was a marketing ploy: a well engineered, fast, tight handling, and good looking marketing ploy, but a marketing ploy none the less.

The Mazdaspeed Miata is still considered by many to be the finest factory Miatas that Mazda ever produced. While I am partial to my ‘99 Miata, having driven the MSM pictured above, I can honestly say that it will pin you back in your seat and the smiles per gallon are exactly the same, if not better, than any standard Miata. With the success of the newest generation Miata, I hope Mazda will someday bring us another Mazdaspeed Miata, even if it’s just a limited production special edition. Mazda, I know you’re more mature nowadays, but it’s okay to “Zoom Zoom” every now and then, for old times sake.

What do y’all think about the MSM? Is it a collectors car? Is it the best Miata ever made? Or is it just another Miata with more power? Let me know about this or anything else I wrote in the comments below.