MAZDASPEED TURBO

It sure sounds like a bargain on paper...

Dana

I too think it is very interesting. What is the time-frame for availability?

Leon

"Chris D'Agnolo" wrote

The April Road & Track has a pic of the Titanium Gray with black interior. Red leather sure would look good on that car. If'n I was buying new this year, the MazdaSpeed Miata would be the car.

Naturally, miataforum has been debating its worth since it was first rumored, early last summer, despite a total lack of hard facts until a couple of months ago. The concensus: it's a terrific bargain for someone who wants a quicker Miata, turnkey with factory warranty, and who will be satisfied not having the fastest Miata in town. I sure wouldn't add any JRSC stock to my portfolio right about now...

Stepping back a bit to widen the perspective, many suspect the MSM is a teaser to maintain market interest until the NC arrives. Personally, I doubt anyone who buys one will be disappointed or remorseful--it looks like a huge bunch of fun.

It remains to be seen (a) if dealers will gouge on the sticker price, and (2) how long it will take the insurance industry to wake up and smell the hoarse powder.

My take:

Great buy compared to stock LS Miata comparing MSRP to MSRP. And a pretty tempting package. But ...

Don't like the bodykit addons, don't really want the 17" wheels, the intercooler looks goofy (well, more like Bugs than Goofy).

If I was in the market again, I'd probably go for a heavily discounted new Shinsen at ~$18K over a likely undiscounted MS Turbo at $26K.

The front is OK, the winglet isn't much uglier than any of the other spoilers (if it can't be removed without leaving holes, I could live with it), and the wheels/tires should be easy to sell and replace with lighter 15-inchers. The intercooler is part of the turbo deal--one could install a grille, I guess, if stealth were important.

But I'm not in the market, either.

I'm not in the market either but dang, this makes it tempting to re-evaluate priorities.

I agree this is to stir the pot and keep interest up. I think it's a fabulous way to do it. I also agree, buyers will probably not be disappointed when the NC comes out, this car is very individualistic.

I don't especially care for the little aero add ons but agree with Lanny, they don't run me off.

Car and Driver finally came today (I've been keeping constant watch on the mail box for several days) and the gray car is beautiful as expected. Somebody mentioned red leather, it's black leather with red stitching.

Big problem is production plans of only 4000! That would lead me to believe dealers will get greedy.

Hope not, maybe Mazda will build more if they sell real well.

Chris

completely over-rated.

find a well-maintained '99 sport and put an FM turbo on it. $10k + $4k slightly more than HALF of the mazdaspeed. sure, no financing and no warranty, but $12k less (not including financing costs). seems like an easy choice to me. gotta have leather? buy some seat covers.

$0.02,

dookie

But it's a 5 year old car. By the time the Mazdaspeed Turbo is 5 years old, it will have a market price of maybe $10-12K, so a '99 turbo for $14K is overpriced by comparison.

-- Marcio Watanabe

Good point, Dookie also completely misses just how much effort Mazda seems to have put into this. It's not just a turbo, it's a full performance upgrade including suspension, brakes, transmission and of course every detail in the engine bay. When you put a turbo system on yourself, it seems you've got a never ending list of parts that require and / or need, upgrading. The list starts with the clutch and probably includes the differential, ecu, injectors and on and on. Of course, the question would be how many of these would be required to be the 'equal' of the factory car, at least performance wise.

I'm not arguing that a 5 yr old Miata with a good turbo set up is not a great car but it's not comparable to having a performer like this with no miles on the odo and a big juicy warranty, with many years of tearing up the roads ahead of you.

Chris

A couple of thoughts:

1. With installation, an FM1 turbo with clutch and cooling upgrades will cost a bit more than k.

1. These two Miatas will appeal to entirely different types of buyers. Some folks simply must have a new car with a factory warranty. Some will be attracted by the unique red paint (same mica red as RX-8, no?) and other special-edition features. Others won't care about that stuff, and will go for performance-per-dollar (the existing FM market). I doubt many buyers will be seriously torn between the two alternatives. The news is that people who were antsy (whether justified or not) about the DIY nature of a turbo kit now have an attractive "official" option. I don't see the MSM having much impact on FM...though as I said yesterday, I expect Moss to take a hit on JRSC sales.

Agreed, different animals for different hunters.

Chris

Does anyone know if this is likely to make it across the pond to Blighty ?? You guys seem to get all the best spec MX's :-(