2008 Mazda Mazda5 Touring on 2040-cars

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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.

RingBanana Miata breaks 9-min Nurburgring barrier

The RingBanana is a cheap Mazda MX-5 Miata on a screaming mission: to lap the Nurburgring in under nine minutes. And let us emphasize the word "cheap." The team wanted the least expensive Miata they could find that still ran, and then wanted to spend the least amount of money possible in order to hit their target mark. We don't know how much they spent on the Ringbanana, but they were so indiscriminate about the purchase that they don't know what year the car is. They only know that it's got 90 horsepower, green springs, Fulda tires, and "it's completely crap." After setting a base lap of 9:21.8 the guys behind the project figured they'd have a fair bit of work. Turns out a new set of Kumho V70A semi-slick, road-legal race tires paired with Gabriel Pirana's driving is all they needed. With just that mod Pirana set a lap time of 8:59.9, and that was while having to deal with one spot of slow traffic that was getting around a stricken car. According to Wikipedia, this puts them between a 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged and a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt SS. Even though the team achieved its goal on its first attempt, the Ringbanana game isn't over – there's probably a suspension mod in the near future while the guys figure out just how quickly they can go. The video above does a good job of showing just how fun it can be driving a slow car fast.

Wards names its 2015 10 Best Interiors list

Wards Automotive has named the winners of its 10 Best Interior awards, covering a wide but affordable array of vehicles. Where last year's list contained two six-figure vehicles, including the $372,800 Rolls-Royce Wraith, this year's is, well, a whole lot more reasonable. The publication lists the Mercedes-Benz C400 at $65,000 (which seems off), making it the most expensive vehicle here. That said, we'd argue that the entire C-Class line deserves to make this year's list, owing to its varied and high-quality selection of materials. The other vehicle to break the $60,000 mark, meanwhile, is the $60,675 Ford F-150 King Ranch, which has 327,000 pounds of leather lining its interior. Only one other German car, the BMW i3, and one other pickup truck, the GMC Canyon, managed to make this year's list. Here's the full list of this year's winners: 2014 BMW i3 ($52,550) 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum ($51,175) 2015 Ford F-150 King Ranch ($60,675) 2015 GMC Canyon SLT ($40,465) 2015 Honda Fit EX-L ($21,590) 2015 Jeep Renegade Limited ($33,205) 2015 Kia Sedona SXL ($43,295) 2016 Mazda6 Grand Touring ($33,395) 2015 Mercedes C400 ($65,000) 2015 Nissan Murano SL ($41,905) See what we mean about the mainstream vehicles? Not only is there a distinct lack of luxury brands, it's the price of some of the vehicles that surprise. The Honda Fit, Jeep Renegade and Mazda6 are very reasonably priced, especially when you compare Wards price with the starting price. The Renegade Limited starts at less than $25,000, the Mazda at less than $22K and the Fit at under $16,000. Head over to Wards for a more detailed explanation of why each vehicle won. Featured Gallery 2015 Ward's Automotive 10 Best Interiors View 10 Photos News Source: Wards Automotive BMW Chrysler Ford GMC Honda Jeep Kia Mazda Mercedes-Benz Nissan Truck Crossover Hatchback Sedan nissan murano gmc canyon Interior jeep renegade WardsAuto kia sedona wards 10 best interiors mercedes c400