Look at us car enthusiasts, often seeking what we almost can’t have—let’s say you drive a McLaren and notice that, if you want to keep your license, you can only use, say, a quarter of the throttle. So, what would be a better choice in terms of more or less legal hooning? Perhaps a Mazda MX-5 Miata, which will give you all the giggles while you’re flooring it. Then again, having enjoyed the Japanese roadster myself in its current ND iteration, I can tell you extra speed was high on the list of desires at times. Well, the rendering I’ve brought along seems to offer the best of both worlds.
This digital thing started out in life as a 3D model of the NB-generation (the second one) Mazda MX-5 Miata—this Gen II was built between 1998 and 2005. However, while almost all the factory incarnations of this sportscar sit below 200 horsepower, there’s no aero work going on with the stock unit.
Now, the pixel upgrades seen here come to change that in a dramatic fashion. And, to top it all off with inspiration from a brand that loves to mistake its street cars for racers and gift them with plenty of downforce, the aero kit is liked to McLaren. And not just any sort of Woking machine, but the British automaker’s savage Longtail series.
While your “standard” McLarens are among the quickest in their segments (e.g.: GT, supercar, track special, etc.), the LT models are generally lighter, more powerful, and feature even more hardcore aero.
London-based digital artist Al Yasid, who simply goes by al.yasid on social media, decided to give the twenty-year-old Miata an LT conversion that packs plenty of airflow manipulation bits. Thus, we’re talking about an efficient way of adding downforce, which means slapping a monstrous wing that would seriously impact the drag coefficient of the car just wouldn’t do.
The widebody of the MX-5 kicks off with front overfenders sporting massive aero channels, but all this is dwarfed by the super-sized diffuser secured via multiple rods.
There are side skirt extensions and equally monstrous rear overfenders, but I’m more interested in what goes on at the back.
This is based on an older version of the pixel master’s work
Al Yasid has given the Miata a somewhat similar conversion the past, with the LT transformation refining the work. As such, the posterior features a rather discreet wing that gives the vehicle its Longtail profile.
And you’ll notice the rear bumper is protruded by the exhaust pipes. These have been removed from down below to make room for a large diffuser, which is the kind of element that adds downforce without the said negative effect on the drag coefficient.
The high-speed conversion is not all LT, though. Since we seem to be discussing extreme velocity numbers, this Mazda also takes a cue from the McLaren Speedtail. This is a beast that can hit 250 mph (403 km/h) and comes with a… native longtail shape that helps it achieve the said numbers. And we’re referring to the design of the front wheels here.
It looks like, with the proper motivation—the Speedtail packs 1,080 hp thanks to a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 with electric assistance—this Miata would also be capable of hitting that kind of speed.
Stranger things have happened in real life
Come to think of it, seeing a Miata modded with McLaren or McLaren-inspired bits going that fast might seem odd, but the real world brings even more curious aspects.
For one, as die-hard Macca fans will tell you, the 3.8L and 4.0L twin-turbo V8s that power all modern McLarens—they’re built by British specialist Ricardo—are based on the architecture of a Japanese engine, albeit one Nissan developed for racing.
Then again, going that far would probably require trading the cloth roof, which is still present on the Mazda, for a hardtop. For now, though, we can enjoy this open-air toy in glossy black attire via the images below.
