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Driving a $500 junker in a 500-mile off-road rally race | 'The List' #0500

Jessi and Patrick have done some insane rally races on "The List," but in an effort to continually out-do themselves, this might be the craziest yet. It's called the Gambler 500, and the idea is that 2,000-plus participants take $500 cars and drive them 500 miles across Oregon, mostly off-road. It's a maniacal mishmash of cars with not enough doors, too many doors, airplane wings strapped to the tops, graffiti'd cartoons on the hoods, stuffed animals hanging out the windows — you get the idea. Our hosts start the race with an absolutely epic Mazda Miata sitting atop super swampers. It didn't have a top, but have no fear because it had a roll cage, so ... that's better? Unfortunately though, they didn't have time to customize the car fully to their liking before the race, so the first stop after the starting gun was naturally a garage sale for some knickknacks to give the car a little more flair. One of the defining aspects of the Gambler 500 is having the most obnoxious, bonkers car possible, and the old Miata needed a bit of a kick in the ass. Thankfully, the crew found the largest teddy bear in existence, strapped that bad boy to the roll cage, and they were on their way. There are a few routes you can choose to take in the Gambler 500, and our crew chose the most challenging, called "The Devil's Butthole." A hilarious name for an outrageously fun route, it's definitely not one that many Miatas have likely tackled. And therein lies the gamble: Will they make it to the end? As always, you'll have to watch the episode above to find out. If you liked the episode, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube page and like our Facebook page for more exclusive content from "The List" and if you're interested in learning more about the Gambler 500 or even participating in the event, check out their official website or follow them on Facebook! Click here to find more episodes of "The List" Click here to learn more about our hosts, Jessi and Patrick Auto News Celebrities Weird Car News Mazda Convertible Special and Limited Editions The List Videos Original Video jessi combs patrick mcintyre

Mazda Miata livery design contest in Forza Horizon 2

If you're into video games, creativity, the Mazda MX-5 Miata and South by Southwest, then there's a contest in Forza Horizon 2 you'll want to know about. Called the Livery Design Contest, your job is to head to Xbox Live sometime before midnight on January 4, 2015 and design a paint job for the 1994 Miata in the game. A panel of judges will evaluate designs for originality, aesthetic design and technical proficiency, and settle on up to five semifinalists who will regroup in the next round, which is public voting. Come January 26, the public can begin voting on its favorite design until February 12, to narrow the semifinal pool down to two. Those two will be flown to South by Southwest in Austin, TX – which happens from March 13-22 – and one of them will be crowned the winner. Said winner will lumber away from the event with $3,500 worth of prizes, including a 55-inch curved-screen television, and their livery will be free to all of the minions playing Forza Horizon 2. There's also a Mazda hub on Xbox Live for everyone to take an in-depth look at the 2016 Miata, if you just like to watch, in which case you may also want to see the related videos joining the press release below. MAZDA TEAMS UP WITH XBOX TO LAUNCH 2016 MX-5 - Mazda MX-5 Livery Design Contest Now Live in Forza Horizon 2 - - Branded hub allows Xbox users to virtually tour 2016 MX-5 and enter MX-5 design contest - Winning design to be featured in Forza Horizon 2 and gifted to all players IRVINE, Calif. (December 4, 2014) – For the second consecutive year, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) is teaming up with Xbox, this time to promote the launch of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 and give Forza Horizon 2 players the chance to enter the Mazda MX-5 Livery Design Contest. An interactive experience with the 2016 Mazda MX-5 and information on the design contest will be available through the Mazda branded hub on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The Mazda MX-5 Livery Design Contest, which is now live through January 4, 2015, will give Forza Horizon 2 players the opportunity to design the livery for the 1994 Mazda MX-5 currently available in-game. Two finalists will be awarded a trip in March to South by Southwest 2015 for the final design showdown. The winner will walk away with a new 55-inch curved TV, audio music system, Xbox One Kinect console and one MadCatz Racing Wheel estimated at $3,499.95.

Mazda details diesel prototype at Daytona test

Diesel has without a doubt become the dominant fuel in the modern era of endurance racing. The 24 Hours of Le Mans has been won under diesel power for the past eight years running, as has every race in the FIA World Endurance Championship since its inauguration in 2012. Yet there will only be one diesel prototype entered in the top tier of the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship this year, and it belongs to Mazda.
The last Japanese manufacturer to win at Le Mans outright, Mazda has been gradually working its way back up the endurance racing ladder once again, following the example set by Audi with diesel power. Last year it campaigned a competition-spec Mazda6 Skyactiv-D in the GX class of the Grand-Am series, but rather than simply port over the existing racer into the new series, it's fielding a new prototype instead, just as it promised a couple of months ago. And now that prototype has hit the track for the first time, prompting Mazda to release its basic specs for the first time.
Tentatively referred to simply as the 2014 Mazda Prototype, the purpose-built racecar is testing this weekend in the Roar Before the 24, the official test session at Daytona that kicks off the racing season. It packs a 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D engine that's based heavily on the production version but tuned to produce 450 horsepower and 580 pound-feet of torque in race trim. Power is channeled through a six-speed sequential transmission from Xtrac, carbon brakes from AP and 18-inch racing slicks from Continental. With the Daytona-spec aero setup, it'll top out at around 186 miles per hour.