Mazda Motorsports has revealed its newest hardtop option for the latest Mazda MX-5. With this, Mazda racers can now compete in SCCA and NASA Club Racing and the Pirelli World Challenge TCA class. This is for the latest generation of its roadster.
For the not-at-all-low price of $4,420, you can pick up a factory hardtop for your Mazda MX-5, but there's a catch. It's not meant for the street-legal Miata. Instead, it's an option for the MX-5 Cup race car. In fact, to keep folks from getting the wrong idea, it will only be sold to approved racers who own or have ordered the Cup car, according to Car Buzz.
According to Car Throttle, adding a roof, even if it's not a permanent one, will allow the Mazda MX-5 Cup to participate in additional racing series, including SCCA, NASA, the Pirelli World Challenge.
The MX-5 Cup is a far cry from the standard car, in terms of both equipment and cost. Its engine features race modification, the brake lines are stainless steel, the suspension is adjustable, and there is a big ol' roll cage jammed into the interior. While a standard MX-5 may start around $25,000, the Mazda MX-5 Cup more than doubles the price to $58,900.
Racers might wonder what's stopping them from just finding a racer friend who will buy the hardtop Mazda MX-5 for their street car. Well, for one, there's the look of it. From the angle seen above, it looks fine and dandy. But, to clear the rather tall roll cage, the hardtop packs an odd rising roofline.
There's also the matter of what you'll have to do to make it fit. A Mazda Motorsports spokesperson told Car and Driver that adding this racing hardtop "requires things you wouldn't want to do to your street car." By the sounds of it, there's probably some cutting involved.