Breaking The Stereotype
Michael’s 2019 Mazda Mx-5.
Having been able to attend tons of local car meets throughout my life, there is usually one car that never fails to be of absence. The infamous pop-up headlights we all know with the friendly and welcoming front end is too familiar to everyone and it never fails to put a smile on anyone’s face. While that’s one of the things that the Miata is known for, this one in particular breaks that stereotype and gives a new light to this overall awesome car.
This is Michael’s 2019 Mazda Miata MX5. For most people, it comes off as unrecognizable due to the obnoxiously large chassis-mounted wing, the bolt-on widebody kit, and the incredibly low stance that almost looks like it sits on the ground. It doesn’t fail to turn heads when it’s rolling on the streets due to the vibrant Advan livery and yellow tinted headlights to top off the aggressive look to a car known to be the opposite of that.
It took 6 months for Michael to build this car and wasn’t always the plan from the beginning. Originally, he had opted for a very simple stance build — with a tasteful set of rims and an incredibly low ride height. After getting rear ended, he had decided to cut the car up and proceeded to order the Rocket Bunny widebody kit.
The Miata has always been loved for 3 main reasons: affordability, drivability, and lots of potential to start with. Those 3 reasons are also what drove Michael to choose this car, and I think he’s nailed the fact that the Miata can pull off any theme, regardless of its image as perceived by the general public.
The car as it comes from the factory is awesome. It may be small and doesn’t pull huge horsepower numbers, but it doesn’t take away the thrill of driving... In fact, that very reason is actually what makes it fun. A light chassis makes for a nimble handling that is agile and telepathic when you direct the steering wheel wherever you want to go. The small horsepower numbers are just enough for a chassis that weighs around 2,500lbs. This is a car that won’t scare you, but rather encourage you to challenge the road ahead.
What I love about this build is the fact that he’s given the Miata a totally new identity. The car is dressed with a Rocket Bunny widebody kit, with a chassis mounted wing that isn’t even made for this car. Inspired by Mad Mike from RedBull Racing, he wanted to build something completely different; something completely new to the eye.
While most widebody cars we see are on air suspension, Michael’s car sits on KW V3 coilovers, with Work CR 2-piece that is a custom spec to clear the brake calipers, and wrapped in Yokohama V105s. 17 x 9.5 -40 in the rear, and 17 x 8 -45 in the front to create a flush look with very minimal finger gap to avoid rubbing.
As raw and aggressive on the outside, the interior remained stock to keep the comfort and familiarity of an original Mazda MX5 and of course, a 6 speed manual transmission to maximize driver engagement and most importantly: overall fun.
Speaking of overall fun, Michael isn’t exactly done with this build just yet. While he hasn’t yet decided what exactly will be done in the future, he does plan to put more power into the car. Either with a turbo, a supercharger, or a complete engine swap. Who knows at this point? Even he doesn’t yet. But it’ll be really interesting to see this thing burn some rubber as he does also consider to turn it into a drift car.
If you wanna follow his build, you can find him on Instagram: @mingan.nef.