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Modded budget Mazda Miata takes on new Porsche Boxster in more challenges

Earlier this month, our friends across the pond at Auto Express released the first in a two-video series that would see them try and build up a second-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata that could best a standard Porsche Boxster around the track. While that first video detailed the mods to the MX-5 - a supercharger, some suspension upgrades and a new set of super-sticky rubber being chief among them - and set baseline lap times for the stock car, today, we have the results of the 5,000-pound ($8,200) upgrade job.
Of course, we aren't going to spoil those for you. You'll need to watch the full video, which recaps the upgrades before digging into a comparison of both straight-line-speed differences between the 2.7-liter Porsche Boxster and blown Miata, as well as their behavior and lap times on the track.
Take a look and let us know what you think in Comments.

Mazda creates reproduction parts program for North American MX-5 Miata

In 2017 Mazda announced a restoration program for the MX-5 Miata in Japan. The good news was that owners of Miatas that looked like they'd been thoroughly enjoyed for decades could get their convertibles returned to as-new condition. The bad news is that the program was a trial for "quality verification," and only open to the Japanese market. At the time, Mazda Japan said it was "considering re-supply of parts that became discontinued" for the first-gen NA series produced from 1989 to 1997. In February this year, the carmaker's then-CEO revealed that "Our fans can be reassured that additional parts, identified by owners and specialty shops, will become available by June of this year." The time has come, Mazda North America announcing a reproduction parts program for first-gen Miatas with a catalog of more than 1,100 new and legacy components.  The automaker says it spoke to Miata clubs and shops to determine which parts were needed most. Among this first salvo will be a fabric soft top using the same rear screen material from the NA series, roller mechanism for the side windows, brake calipers, and a set of aluminum Enkei wheels in the original design that are lighter and boast a better finish. Perhaps even better are the arcane OEM parts that can be desperately hard to source for era-appropriate restorations, like grommets, bolts, gas shocks and the "Roadster" badge that's an eBay go-to (called a "Mascot" on the parts list). Each piece has been redeveloped to take advantage of modern materials and build techniques while maintaining the look of the period-correct original.  The parts list PDF runs to 42 pages. Anyone with a TLC-starved Miata in the garage, the love your jinba ittai droptop has been waiting for is here.   

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata reveal to be livestreamed, feature Duran Duran

We're all hungry like the wolf to see the unveiling of the next-generation 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata on September 3, but Mazda is seriously excited about taking the sheet of its latest droptop because it has 1980s New Wave act Duran Duran headlining the event. In case you can't make it to Monterey, CA, Tokyo or Barcelona to watch the reveal happen, the brand is also livestreaming it on YouTube starting at 6:00 PM PT (9:00 PM ET). The Miata is then showing its all-new face again during the broadcast of Fashion Rocks on CBS on September 9 at 9:00 PM ET.
Facts about the new MX-5 have remained elusive, but we saw its bare chassis at the 2014 New York show. The roadster was rumored to return to the classic oval grille from the earlier models and also shed a decent amount of weight over the current version, possibly around 300 pounds.
Don't worry about noting the big reveal in your calendars, though. Not only will Autoblog be in attendance in Monterey to hear Simon Le Bon belt out Rio, we will also publish another post linking to the livestream before the unveiling. In the meantime, scroll down to read Mazda's announcement and check out the link to the stream, which just shows a countdown at the moment.