Endurance Racing Specialist.
The Mazda Miata is a favorite among drivers around the world for its basic, straightforward approach to performance. It may not blow your socks off with blistering acceleration, but it’s perfect weight distribution, superb handling, and affordable price makes it a track day superstar for automotive enthusiasts.
At the 2011 SEMA Show, Mazda showed off its new, Cosworth-supercharged Super20 that was full-on crazy for the racetrack. But for the 2012 SEMA Show, the Japanese automaker shifted their focus from the insane track day performer to the proficient endurance racer with the new MX-5 Super25.
In 1991 at the 59th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mazda was able to shock the world and become the first and only Japanese automaker to win at Le Mans as well as become the first and only to win without using a reciprocating engine. The new MX-5 Super25 Miata unveiled at SEMA was a tribute to the No. 55 787B racecar that won Le Mans. Black, grey, and red livery of MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development is worn throughout the exterior along with two No. 55 graphics along each side. Super Red gloss paint is featured throughout the exterior with Brilliant White highlights on the hood, roof, and trunklid. Black Mica was applied to much of the lower parts of the front and rear bumpers and side skirts. A special four-lamp set was installed at the front of the MX-5 Super25 with PIAA 40-Series halogen lights on the inside and two 510 Super White Driving halogens on the outside. The final touch is a new set of six-spoke Volk Racing T37 wheels in 17-inch diameters at the front and rear paired up with BFGoodrich g-Force™ R1™ 225/45ZR17 tires for better grip.
While the exterior looks all fine and dandy for race day, it’s the interior that really makes this a competitive endurance racecar. A single Sparco Evo competition racing seat outfitted with ultra-suede material and Tomato-red inserts created by Mazda Design holds the driver snug along with a Sparco six-point racing harness. The factory steering wheel was replaced with a suede Sparco R323 competition steering wheel that offers a greater amount of grip and control. For drivers/teams that want to shave off every fraction-of-a-second off of their lap times, Mazda has installed a AiM MXL data acquisition logger into the dashboard that records and displays ECU information in real-time.
Mazda did not offer up any information on modifications to the 2.0-liter inline-four engine that lies beneath its hood. But, with all that fun packed into the already-exciting chassis, we’re not going to complain. The MX-5 Super25 will most likely never make it to production, but we’ll have our fingers crossed that this endurance racer makes it to the racetrack one day.
Mazda MX-5 Super25 Miata Gallery
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Should Mazda produce the MX-5 Super25 Miata? Leave a comment and let us know!
