New Mazda MX-5 GT - the fastest 5 ever

Thought the huge-selling, British favourite Mazda MX-5 was cute, sweet and cuddly? Think again; this racing-5 has been on a bad-attitude-diet getting geared up to compete in the 2011 Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship.

This new, race-ready MX-5 manages to look lightweight, even without any moving racetrack action available showing nimble direction changes or lightning acceleration. However, a pre-race weigh-in indeed reveals that this stripped ‘n’ striped drop-top now tips the scales just 850kg. An F1 car weighs 640kg on the startline. 

And it’s this bantam-like power-to-weight ratio that means the diminutive racer can take on big-power heavyweight competitors from the likes of Aston Martin, Porsche and BMW, with ‘just’ 275bhp. 

Jota Sport, the race engineering team that will run the cars in the 2011 series, took 400 hours to build the shell to a specification that made it 17 times stronger than required by the FIA - are they expected lots of fender-benders? During the development they faced a number of engineering challenges such as road-to-race suspension adjustments, integrating the six-speed sequential gearbox, and dropping the engine for a lower centre of gravity. 

The interior was gutted and the bodyshell dipped in acid to remove all sealants and sound deadening materials. Just this rather uncomfortable-sounding bath alone trimmed 15kg of fat from the MX-5. Feel free to use any of this tuning information as inspiration to modify your MX-5.
But don’t fill your bathtub with Draino!

The modified MX-5 GT features a race-tuned engine that produces 275bhp, a six-speed sequential paddle shift gearbox, carbon doors and polycarbonate windows. The interior is a bespoke carbonfibre delight, and that wild, heavy-metal-flake paint is called Spirited Green; just in case you want to order it for your new MX-5.

“The MX-5 production race car’s modest power output, bullet proof reliability and nimble handling demonstrated last year how the MX-5 can be competitive against some of the purpose-built Lotus, VW and BMW race cars. With a higher power output combined with the durability, reliability and handling attributes that the MX-5 is renowned for; the MX-5 GT race car will be strong contender against the more powerful race cars in its class,” comments Graeme Fudge, PR Director, Mazda UK. 

Top speed is now 160mph, and the to-62mph dash is dispatched in just 3secs. Sounds pretty competitive to me! 

The Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship is contested over nine races from March to November including a race at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The first race is a three hour endurance race at Silverstone on Saturday 26th March, starting at 3.00pm.














By Daniel Anslow

Follow us @totallymotor