The Mazda MX-5 Miata is one of the best sports cars you can buy new for about $40,000. And while there are a million ways to customize one, make it handle better, a lot of people just want the Rocket Bunny widebody kit.
Why? Because it makes their cars stand out like nothing else. Rocket Bunny is the name of the kit, which is available for a variety of cars and looks like it wain the United States due to legal reasons (TRA Kyoto in Japan).
The NA Miata’s Pandem kit is perhaps more famous than the one for the ND. However, I’ve seen quite a lot of builds since the Rocket Bunny package was presented at the 2016 Tokyo Auto Salon. It’s amazing how many people are willing to do irreparable damage to their factory fenders.
This one belongs to a shop called JP Fiberglass Parts, which sells JDM-tyle parts for a variety of popular sports cars. And while I’m not surprised to see such extreme mods, there are a few which I haven’t seen before.
Pandem Miata: the details
The price of the Rocket Bunny Miata kit varies depending on how many of the parts you order. But since this has the wing, a company like GReddy might charge $4,500.
Like most Pandem kits, this requires extreme mods to accommodate the widest setup possible. This means you not only have to cut through the front fenders, which can be replaced but also the rear ones, which are attached to the chassis. So going back to stock is very expensive.
Besides the fender flares, you also have to drill into the doors to attach inserts. The large wing bolts into the trunk lid, and spoilers are also added to both bumpers.
Speaking of the bumpers, this smurf blue MX-5 Club Edition has a custom bumper by Knight Sport, which is a Hong Kong company unless I’m mistaken. It’s quite different from the normal ND design and comes with its own spoiler.
The hood is where the carbon fiber begins, with several large vents supposedly letting the 2.0-liter engine breath better. Carbon fiber is also used on the rear diffuser and several pieces which dress up the mirrors and windshield.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a full build without a set of wheels, the SSR 17×11, air suspension, Brembo brakes, and a straight pipe exhaust.
Pandem S2000, a rare Pokemon
The ND Miata is still in production, and there must be tens or hundreds of widebody builds out there. However, this cool night drive video from REC Tuned highlights a member of JDM royalty, the Honda S2000.
This sports car needs to introduction. It was built between 1999 and 2009 with a fantastic VTEC engine and the rare Honda RWD chassis. They only produced 110,000 Honda S2000s, which means it’s at least 10 times rarer than a Miata (all 4 generations).
Used prices have gone through the roof, and you never see them customized to this extent. This beast belongs to one Hector Jr Frias.
Spoon actually makes the most famous S2000 parts, and you’ve got some of those here too: hardtop and diffuser. However, the widebody is of the Rocket Bunny variety.
The parts swap also includes a carbon fiber hood from Seibon, custom mirrors and headlights with Acura TSX LED components. It’s obviously also fitted with air suspension and some nice 18-inch Work VS-SS wheels. It’s a pretty special car, but I would have loved to see a bit of color.
