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This is what a 1,200-hp twin-turbo 4-rotor looks like in a Miata

We've seen the diminutive Mazda MX-5 Miata swallow plenty of big engines, but New Zealand drifting ace "Mad Mike" Whiddett is roaring into where-no-man-has-gone-before territory. Wanting to replace his 515-horsepower "MADBUL" RX-7 and its twin-turbocharged, three-rotor 20B engine, his new ride is an NC-series Miata with four rotors and twin Garrett turbochargers courtesy of Pulse Performance Race Engineering. It is called "RADBUL," and expected power at standard boost is 1,200 hp, but the builders at Pulse Performance think it will get up to 1,500 hp at full boost. And yes, that exhaust exits through the hood. Four-rotor engines are actually popular - builds are detailed on forums like this one from 2007 and this one from 2008, this UK company or this Canadian company will sell you one complete - but they're usually being prepped for an RX-7. Mad Mike's choice of a Miata for this enterprise makes this about as extreme as you can get, short of throwing it into a Mazda R360. You can watch Mad Mike tell the story of the build in the video, and check out the first and second installments about the build on the Red Bull site.

Jay Leno celebrates Mazda Miata's 25th birthday

Ask a car enthusiast what the best driver's car on the road is, and the Mazda MX-5 Miata is very likely to come up rather quickly. Unjustly saddled with a reputation as a "chick's car," the Miata has been, over its three generations, one of the finest driving instruments ever built - it's light, agile and rear-wheel drive with direct, snappy steering, an engine that revels in being revved and a precise, smooth-shifting transmission. The fact that it's ridiculously affordable and reliable is simply a bonus.
It should come as no surprise then, that a car with these traits has endured for 25 years, a milestone reached only by some of the most famous nameplates in the auto industry - Corvette, Mustang, F-150, SL, M3 and so on. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Jay Leno spent some time with the little roadster that could, while also chatting with two of the Mazda employees that were central to the MX-5's arrival on the world's automotive scene, Bob Hall and Tom Matano.
Take a look below for the latest video from Jay Leno's Garage on the excellent Mazda MX-5 Miata.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata a knight in white satin

We're not going to lie to you. The reason you're seeing the fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata on these pages again is solely because this is the first time we're seeing the roadster displayed in a color other than the ruby shade it was first shown in. Okay, okay, so this is the first time the Miata is being displayed at a North American auto show other than SEMA, and we'd say that this is the first time Mazda is showing a US-spec model, but clearly this is a right-hand-drive car. Either way, there's still not much to it yet, especially since Mazda is still withholding power and performance figures.
As expected, the ND Miata, as it is already known among the cognoscenti, will receive a 2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder and the buyer's choice of a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic here in the US. The 1.5-liter model engine that had been linked to the car back in the rumormill stage will not make it to our showrooms.
Preliminary specifications still show the Miata measuring just 154.1 inches in length overall, with an increased track width to 68.1 inches and a low, low overall height of 49.0 inches. Despite the larger-displacement engine and its presumably heavier weight, Mazda is still claiming ideal 50:50 weight distribution and a weight loss of over 220 pounds versus today's NC generation. All of which sounds like the Miata has the right ingredients to make good on its promised Jinba Ittai ("rider and horse as one") driving experience.