The Mazda MX-5 Miata has always strictly followed the lightweight sports car ethos born from British roadsters of the ’50s and ’60s: A revvy, simple, naturally aspirated four-cylinder up front, connected to a manual transmission sending power to the rear wheels, nestled in a two-seat convertible body.
The formula works for a few reasons. Its simple nature means there isn’t a lot of weight or complexity involved. Done right, it delivers an incredible balance, which results in a thrilling drive. And because it’s so simple, it costs relatively little to get into, and next to nothing to maintain.
This approach has proved successful for Mazda. The Japanese carmaker has sold well over 1 million Miatas over 37 years and four generations, making the smile-inducing two-seater one of the greatest-selling sports cars of all time.
There was a time, however, when Mazda briefly looked at switching the formula up by adding more weight and power, in the form of a V6 engine. Engineers even went as far as secretly building a prototype. Thankfully, the automaker quickly realized this would’ve just made the Miata worse, not better, and dropped the idea.
The Factory V6-Powered Miata Was Real, For A Moment
Dutch news site AutoRAI.nl recently got a chance to speak with Christian Schultze, the director of research and operations of Mazda Europe, about the Miata’s future. When the conversation drifted towards powertrain possibilities, the publication asked about whether the next Miata, expected to be named the NE internally, might get a 2.5-liter engine (the current Miata has a 2.0-liter engine, so this would be a big step up in capacity). Schultze revealed something I don’t think anyone was expecting: Mazda had already experimented with a 2.5-liter engine, in the form of a V6. From the story:
A 2.5-liter engine sounds appealing, I understand. But interestingly enough, we already tried something like this about twenty years ago. Back then, our engineers built a prototype with a 2.5-liter V6 in their spare time. They did it here in the workshop, purely out of enthusiasm.
Though Schultze doesn’t go into detail about the car itself, 20 years ago would peg this experiment as having happened around 2006, a year after the NC-generation Miata made its debut. There’s no official word on which 2.5-liter V6 was used, but those who know their Mazdas know that the company made a V6 called the K-Series in various displacements up until the early 2000s, the most powerful of which we saw in the states, the KL-DE found in the MX-6, made 164 horsepower and 160 pound-feet of torque. There was also a version that made around 200 horsepower, but it was only sold in Japan.
Compared to the 170-hp four-cylinder found in the NC Miata, this would’ve been a notable step up in performance. But you don’t just get something for nothing, as Schultze pointed out to AutoRAI:
Technically, it was a fascinating project. The problem, however, was the packaging. The engine didn’t fit well under the hood; it was simply too high. The result wasn’t visually appealing. But in terms of the driving experience, it was definitely interesting. That shows that the idea itself isn’t new.
Of course, more power is always good, so it probably wouldn’t have been hard for designers to engineer around the extra height. But a bigger engine also means more weight in the nose. And weight, according to MX-5 engineers, is the ultimate foe. In the case of the MX-5, power isn’t the ultimate goal. It’s lightness. From Schultze:
The real question is: what do you need that 2.5-liter engine for? Is it for the extra torque? Is it for better emissions? Or is it primarily attractive because it’s a larger engine? We want a lightweight engine. A 2.5-liter is by definition heavier than a 1.5- or 2.0-liter. Extra weight up front directly affects balance and steering response. These are precisely the elements that make the MX-5 so special. So it’s not an easy choice.
Adding a bigger, more powerful engine raises more problems than just weight. Because the car is now faster, it needs more tire, more suspension, and more brake to keep up. All of the drivetrain components have to be beefed up to handle the extra twist, and the body has to be modified to accept a wider track. While all this stuff would likely end up improving lap times, the extra weight would compromise that original roadster ethos that made the Miata so successful.
You could argue a Miata with a V6 is a better car, but it’s definitely a worse Miata. The Miata isn’t great because it’s fast. Anyone who’s driven an MX-5 will admit they are decidedly not fast. Miatas are great because they’re balanced, lightweight, communicative, and cheap to own. Could Mazda engineer a V6-powered Miata that’s also fun? I have no doubt. But it wouldn’t be as fun or usable as the original.
No Shortage Of Aftermarket Firms Can Do It For You
If you somehow come away from the first portion of this article thinking the only thing the Miata needs to be perfect is a V6, I wouldn’t count on Mazda to make it happen. That experiment was 20 years ago, and there hasn’t been any indication since that Mazda will use anything other than a naturally aspirated inline-four for the upcoming NE. But there are a few third-party firms that offer swap kits if you want to make your V6 Miata dreams a reality.
V8Roadsters, a US-based aftermarket parts firm that specializes in Miata engine swaps, makes swap kits for all generations of Miata that include new subframes and engine mounts, designed to accommodate General Motors’ LFX V6, which was originally used in cars like the Camaro and the Cadillac ATS. UK-based firm Rocketeer makes parts to fit Jaguar’s AJ30 V6, which appeared in cars like the XJ, the XF, and the Lincoln LS. Pay them enough money, and they’ll build you a whole resto-modded NA or NB, complete with a V6 swap.
Me, though? I think I’ll stick with the original formula.
Top graphic image: Mazda
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