0992016 FLYIN’
MIATA HABU
VEHICLE TYPE: front-
engine, rear-wheel-drive,
2-passenger, 2-door
convertible
PRICE AS TESTED:
$85,301
BASE PRICE: $80,895*
ENGINE TYPE: pushrod
16-valve V-8, aluminum
block and heads, port
fuel injection
DISPLACEMENT:
376 cu in, 6162 cc
POWER:
525 hp @ 6200 rpm
TORQUE:
486 lb-ft @ 5200 rpm
TRANSMISSION:
6-speed manual
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE: 90.9 in
LENGTH: 154.1 in
WIDTH: 68.3 in
HEIGHT: 48.8 in
PASSENGER VOLUME:
49 cu ft
TRUNK VOLUME: 5 cu ft
CURB WEIGHT: 2696 lbC/D TEST RESULTS
ZERO TO 60 MPH:
3.5 sec
ZERO TO 100 MPH:- 8 s e c
ZERO TO 150 MPH:
18.7 sec
ROLLING START,
5–60 MPH: 3.9 sec
1/4-MILE:
11.7 sec @ 123 mph
BRAKING, 70–0 MPH:
148 ft
ROADHOLDING,
300-FT-DIA
SKIDPAD: 1.07 g
*Base price includes
performance-enhancing
options.
Mazda designed the ND Miata to be
lighter, but it also has a roomier engine bay
that accommodates the V-8 with relative
ease. It’s also the best-handling Miata ever,
and its wheel wells will accept larger foot-
wear. In other words, the ND is as close to
being an ideal V-8 transplant recipient as
any car since the 1962 AC Ace.
Still, the ND needs fortification to
survive the V-8’s onslaught. So the Mazda
transmission is ditched in favor of the
familiar Tremec T-56 six-speed manual. A
new aluminum driveshaft leads to a rear
differential also swiped from a fifth-gener-
ation Camaro SS. Up front, a hydraulic
steering rack from a Camaro replaces the
electrically assisted Mazda rack. Somehow,
Flyin’ Miata snakes a true dual exhaust
with twin transverse mufflers in there as
well. So, basically, it’s a Miata that swal-
lowed a Camaro.
At 2696 pounds, this V-8 Miata weighs
380 pounds more than the last stock 2016
Miata we tested. The stock MX-5 puts 51.9
percent of its weight on the front wheels,
where the Habu has 53.0 percent.
Start the V-8, and the sound is so herculean that it nearly ripples
the Miata’s sheetmetal as the car rocks side to side in sync with the
cam lobes. It’s fitted with an LS7 clutch and flywheel, but the pedal
action isn’t heav y and the engagement is smooth. Dipping into the
throttle is as satisfying as jumping on a Stomp Rocket.
Even with a gentle leave at 1100 to 1200 rpm, the engine utterly
overwhelms the Miata. The entire car constricts around you,
a massive crush of torque squeezing the air out of your lungs
and cracking the lower vertebrae of your
back. The 245/40R-17 Bridgestone Potenza
RE71R tires bark under the onslaught, and
the roadster thunders to 60 mph in 3.5 sec-
onds. Hold on a bit longer, and the quar-
ter-mile is consumed in 11.7 seconds at 123
mph. Chevrolet’s 2017 Corvette Grand
Sport needs 3.8 seconds to reach 60 mph
and 12 .2 to get through the quarter-mile.
A Corvette Z06 coupe will run a couple
tenths quicker than the Habu, but it feels
like a pillow compared with the raw-nerve
V-8 MX-5.
The Flyin’ V-8 reaches 60 mph 2.7 sec-
onds quicker than a stock Miata and runs
through the quarter-mile 3.1 seconds
quicker. In the 18.2 seconds it takes the
stock Miata to reach 100 mph, the LS-pow-
ered car is already approaching 150 mph.
This is lurid, indecent, and practically
pornographic acceleration.
Like a proper aftermarket speed pusher,
Flyin’ Miata throws its catalog of go-fast/
stop-fast products on this car. And with all
the FM suspension bits, reinforced half-
shafts, and oversized brakes, the V-8 car is
tractable, stable, and manageable. The
understeer is subdued, and the on-demand
oversteer is well modulated. It can be
driven just like a regular car, even if the
stock stability control is disabled. “This is
a high power-to-weight-ratio car; don’t
drive it like an idiot,” warned FM’s Keith
Tanner, as if idiocy wasn’t a requirement
for wanting one.
Flyin’ Miata LS V-8 conversions start at
$49,995 plus a Miata. The total chit for this
car is $85,301, including $30,900 for the
base Mazda GT. Not cheap, but if Carroll
Shelby’s name were on the car, it would be a
bargain.
Thank God for the perverts who keep
America great.Is a Miata still a Miata if
it doesn’t have Miata
steering or a Miata
shifter? No. The Habu
is, instead, proof that
the Cobra formula is still
perversely appealing.