When you think GT racing, it's natural to think of the big guns: Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, and Corvette. Mazda, on the other hand, unless you're thinking of the RX-8, not so much. But that hasn't stopped the company from whipping up an MX-5-based GT racer to take on most of the above in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship's 2011 season.
The MX-5 GT will face off against the best Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus, and BMW have to offer. How will it fare? From the stats, it looks like it should do pretty well: weighing in at just over 1,700 pounds and getting to 60 mph in three seconds, the GT car is light and very quick. It's also fast, capable of 160 mph top speed.
How is the little MX-5 so quick? It uses a "modified MX-5 engine" of indeterminate arrangement to generate 275 horsepower. Mate that with a six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox, carbon fiber doors and polycarbonate windows and you get the light, powerful, punchy racer necessary to battle the big brands.
The Britcar MSA BEC kicks off this weekend, March 26, at Silverstone, with a three-hour enduro.
