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'Ringbanana' Miata is improbable 9-minute Nurburgring car

The combination of being inexpensive, capable, reliable, and friendly to all skill levels makes the Mazda Miata one of the world's most popular platforms for motorsports, but the roadsters aren't exactly rocketships. What would it take to lap a ratty, first-gen example around the Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than nine minutes? We're not exactly sure, but the Ringbanana team intends to discover the answer. The project is the type of thing that gets dreamed up after a few too many pilsners: buy the cheapest running Miata available and put as little money necessary into the roadster to make it capable around the 'Ring. As the Best-Motoring-inspired intro explains, the Mazda is largely stock other than some Fulda performance tires, possibly aftermarket springs, and a stripped interior. The video above shows the baseline test, and the convertible manages a 9:21.8 circuit, which doesn't seem too bad as a start. The video below goes into far more detail about the project's genesis and its goal. Plus, the two hosts are quite entertaining when replying to the comments from the original clip. We wish them the best of luck and look forward to following along on Facebook to see what it takes to get the Ringbanana below nine minutes. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Next Mazda MX-5 Miata headed for 2015 Chicago debut

Twenty-six years after it was introduced at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show, the much anticipated fourth generation Mazda MX-5 Miata will meet the press at the 2015 Chicago show. A piece in Autocar refines some of the details on the larger, lighter Miata that a Mazda insider has said will be "our best-looking car ever."
The company has relented on the quest for the metric tonne, the 1000-kilogram (2,200-pound) target too difficult to achieve in light of cost constraints. You can still expect it to lose a generous dollop of weight - Autocar says a curb weight of 1,100 kg (2,420 pounds) will still make it the lightest in its class. And Mazda will be stressing a fun driving experience through light weight and a modest amount of naturally-aspirated horsepower. Engine capacities of 1.5 and 2.0 liters are expected. Sounds familiar (and good), right?
The Miata's interpretation of Kodo design will be veer from that found on the Mazda3 and Mazda6, with "very clean and simple" lines marking out "more muscular proportions" and elongated bodywork on a longer wheelbase. A stretched engine bay will make room for the current Skyactiv engine and perhaps the future Skyactiv 2 powerplants, initial reports suggesting there could be a 30-percent increase in fuel economy from the moment it arrives.

Our Mazda MX-5 Miata has the best engine bay in the business

One of the things that's really disappointing about modern cars is how they all hide their technology under a proverbial bushel. You pop the hood, and nine times out of 10, you're faced with some amount of black plastic hiding the functional bits. On some cars the plastic covers the bare minimum to have a "presentable" engine. Others have every tank, hose, wire and screw buried under a layer of smooth plastic. Few exemplify this practice better than engine bay of the current Lexus LS 460, seen below. If Lexus was this embarrassed about its engine, maybe it should have simply bolted the hood shut. However, like with weight gain and power creep, our fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata bucks the plastic trend. Lift the aluminum hood of the little roadster, and you travel back in time more than a decade. (See the gallery up top.) Only one bit of decorative plastic is in sight, and it proclaims the car's Skyactiv technology and hides some of the wires leading to the ignition coils. Otherwise, nothing else is obscured. The shock tower braces, manifolds, battery terminals, the whole shebang is all right there for you to see. What's particularly amazing is that it all looks good. Even in some cars that eschew plastic covers, it's no guarantee of an attractive engine bay. We just had a new Honda Civic Sport hatchback (seen immediately above), and while it doesn't sport a plastic engine cover, you can see from the photo that it's not particularly attractive with tubes and cables snaking every which way. But in the Miata, the hoses and wires are kept to a minimum, and the ones that are there are arranged in a way that isn't haphazard or tangled. Then, in the middle, there's the clean, simple aluminum cam cover as the gleaming centerpiece, similar to those of the first- and second-generation cars. As the owner of a '99 Miata, this detail in particular gives me the warm fuzzies. The fully exposed engine bay fits with the Miata's personality. The car is very straightforward, it features just the absolute minimum of style and comfort additions, and is highly accessible. I would say the Miata's engine bay is the window to its soul, if driving it didn't offer a clearer picture. Related Video: