The miniature Mazda sports car alternatively known as the MX5 or Miata has never been conceived as a rally monster, but an enthusiast from the United States reasoned that there is always a first time for everything.
The end result looks ostentatiously like a brutal SUV with added ground clearance, 14-inch Bassett rollers wrapped in 27-inch Forceum rubber and an a comically oversized bull bar. The two main pop-up headlights are now accompanied by a quartet of roof-mounted floodlights, and the wheel arches appear cut out to accommodate the larger wheels.
As amateurish and superficial as the tuning might look at a first glance, it is actually professionally executed with commendable attention to detail. The few skeptics who think the car is all show and no go need only pop up the hood: the tame original four-pot is gone, and a five-liter Ford V8 occupies the bay instead.
A five-speed manual transmission drives the rear wheels by way of a differential, and the suspension is height-adjustable. The power output is not specified, but it would not be at the top of our list of concerns, the rest of the build considered.
At an online auction that took place this weekend, the eccentric Miata found a new owner who parted with $14,000 for it.