What’s the first thing you do when you get a hold of an old Mazda MX-5 Miata? Well, you could enjoy the thing as is, with its engaging chassis balance, but it’s no secret that a bit of extra juice is required to keep up with modern sports cars. Some people like turbos, others go all out and shoehorn Hellcats in there, but this 90s roadster has its own thing going on, having become the Leaf Blower Miata.
Some might prefer to call this NA (first generation) Mazda MX-5 the Husqvarna edition since that’s the brand of the leaf blower sending air into the already-turbocharged four-cylinder motor of the contraption.
Having previously toyed with compound boost when racing a twin-turbo Dodge Challenger Hellcat, YouTuber Gavin Trace Simon (aka itsjusta6) did a budget version on this Miata, grabbing a 50cc-powered blower, along with hardware for the plumbing from Lowe’s and fitting everything in his garage. Hey, this is even sketchier than an eBay turbo install!
Then again, the enthusiast isn’t at his first blower rodeo, since he had pulled a similar stunt using a Toyota Tacoma, while his previous work on this MX-5 involved replacing the five-speed manual he had ruined while racing, among others.
The racing experience
So, how would the Leaf Blower Miata, as we’ve decided to call it, stack up against Internet-famous MX-5s like the rotary-swapped drift car of Lincoln Whiddett (the son of Kiwi drifter Mad Mike)?
Staging a series of battles might’ve been a bit complicated for a contraption modded with an electric saw and duct tape, but the Mazda still got a fair trial, drag racing a first-generation Porsche Cayman (the fight awaits you at the 10:20 timestamp).
And, regardless of the outcome, the little roadster decided to celebrate towards the end of the video, toasting its rear tires, but not before a… DIY water injection system was introduced (read: somebody watering the surface with a hose, so those rear wheels could break traction).
Just like driving a stock NA Miata means overlooking straight-line performance to focus on how engaging the thing feels in other scenarios (i.e. the bends), we’d rather not mention the actual boost gains resulting from this operation—instead, let’s focus on how the driver is now twice as immersed in the experience since he also has to operate the throttle of the Husqvarana.
Of course, as is the case in the video, the one behind the wheel can share the work with a passenger wearing the blower as a backpack (a factory feature of the thing).
