Mazda MX-5 Miata Transformed into Cosmo Rotary Modern Tribute

The 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon had a lot more to offer than just your average body kit. We didn’t talk about many of the projects there because of lack of info, and that’s the case with this thing, an almost inexplicable conversion for the Mazda MX-5 roadster, the ND Miata to be precise.

There’s a school in Japan called NATS where younglings learn body shop and everything to do with car repair. Almost every year, NATS also debuts some strange concept. It’s always extremely ambitious, sometimes horribly executed.

They had something called the Leaf NGR Concept for 2022, a retro redesign of the popular Japanese electric hatchback. With what looks like MINI Countryman headlights and Fiat 500 taillights, it was… difficult to look at.

However, we’re huge fans of MX-5 total makeovers, and this Miata also seems to be connected to NATS. However, it’s also linked to an obscure page called kaizoushownenap. Kaizou Show Nenap… Kaizou Shownen AP? You be the judge. It seems like this is the shop where the students do their work, and the Miata makeover was carried out last year, but nobody outside of Japan paid any attention.

From what we gather, the ND MX-5 was transformed using a combination of metal and fiberglass work. After the hood, the first part they added seems to be an early CX-5 front bumper, which explains why the little roadster has been widened so much.

The front has got a slanted and pinched grille, which looks like Joker’s smile. It’s obviously a Mazda6 facelift part that’s been chopped. Meanwhile, round headlights have been installed, which we think came out of Fiat 500 or 500X. And out the back, they seem to have four individual lights which come from the Suzuki Hustler, a JDM tiny crossover.

It’s safe to say that the idea is very interesting, but the finished project has little in common with its inspiration. We’re looking at those square fender flares and 90s tuning rocker panes while wondering what this has to do with old Mazdas.

The Mazda Cosmo 110S or Cosmo Sports was the first mass-produced rotary-powered sports car with about 1,100 made from 1967 to about 1972. It was a tiny thing with an 86.6-inch (2.2 meters) wheelbase and a 1-liter 2-rotor Wankel producing 110 hp (130 hp for later models).

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