GTP Cool Wall: 2002 Mazda MX-5 SP

2002 Mazda MX-5 SP


  • Total voters
    104
  • Poll closed .
4,209
United States
Wasilla, AK
2002 Mazda MX-5 SP nominated by @Crispy


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Stats

Production
2002, 100 built

Styles
2-door convertible

Engines
112 ci/1,839 cc turbocharged DOHC inline 4 (rated 211 HP & 198? lb-ft)

Transmissions
6-speed manual

Layouts
Front-engine, Rear-drive

Related
Other Mazda MX-5/Miata/Roadster/MX-5 Miata models

Trivia
Only 100 of these cars were built.

Wikipedia lists the MX-5's 1.8 as displacing 110 ci, but looking up the engine in question and converting the figure given in cc to ci yields 112 ci.

Once again, the U.S. market doesn't get the good stuff. The closest we came was the Mazdaspeed Miata, down about 35 HP on this car. Canada suffered the same fate.

My Take
Cooler than a normal MX-5/Miata because POWARRRRRR, but I'm not sure that's saying much. Really not sure yet, but I'll probably give it at least Meh.
 
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Just stop with the cubic inch displacement. Keep it for old American cars. This is just silly.

Onto the car...

Nobody will notice that this is a special MX-5 unless you pop the hood or *shudder* talk about it, so that's not really a consideration.

To anyone except the most astute observer, this is another Miata with some bright eyed car enthusiast.

Uncool because Miata.
 
This wasn't so much Australia's MazdaSpeed as it was just a MX-5 with a snail under the bonnet. Everything else was left stock aside from the engine.

The SE (more akin to the MazdaSpeed Miata and created by Mazda Japan instead of Prodrive and Mazda Australia) was inherently the more comprehensive package, just lacking in power (the turbo was incredibly tiny and only produced about 15kW more power than the stock MX-5 IIRC, compared to 44kW in the SP).

The SP has a little bit of sleeper value in it because apart from some badging and the larger wheels there's absolutely no way to tell from the exterior that it's got 157kW of power in a circa-1.1-tonne chassis.

And the SP really does hook up well. If only they'd actually put an LSD in it like the SE.

Meh.
 
Meh, I like Miatas, but this is just another generic Miata that no one will care about.
 
Just stop with the cubic inch displacement. Keep it for old American cars. This is just silly.

Onto the car...

Nobody will notice that this is a special MX-5 unless you pop the hood or *shudder* talk about it, so that's not really a consideration.

To anyone except the most astute observer, this is another Miata with some bright eyed car enthusiast.

Uncool because Miata.
All of this. Except I'd make the third last word shorter.
 
I much prefer the NA in general, I'm sort of on the fence with the NB. The addition of a turbo and my general dislike of the use of Meh - to me something can only either be "cool" or "not cool" - means I'm going with cool.
 
Oh no, but you don't understand, it's not just an MX5. It's an MX5 SP. Only one hundred were built.

Seriously uncool.

You don't have to tell people that. That kind of uncoolness is for cars that must be explained. Further, there are no massive stripes or decals on the side announcing the car's notability. It's an MX-5 that might, might get a knowing grin from a knowledgable enthusiast.
 
Since it's an Australian car, they probably only built 100 and declared it a special edition because that as many as they actually sold in the entirety of that year.

Oddly, I drive a special edition Mk1 MX-5
They're all special editions! :lol:
yeah yeah, but I don't recall the last time I mentioned (other than when asked) how many of them were made. I just get "nice colour" a lot - which, admittedly, MX-5 SP owners won't get.
 
If I owned one of these I wouldn't even explain the limited edition status.

All they need to know is it's a Mazda MX-5 and that it's turbocharged. The end.
 
Low cool.

An NA is cooler (because first of the line, pop-ups, neater styling etc). But MX-5s are still cool (like virtually all small roadsters, with a few notable exceptions).

"Low" cool because the fact it's turbocharged isn't really apparent to anyone other than the driver, and therefore you'd have to explain to people what makes it special.
 
Echoing some of the previous comments, cool on the proviso that you don't explain that it's a Special Edition.
 
Uncool. The internet has ruined the Miata/MX-5 by suggesting it as a car at any chance they get.

"Oh you want a family sedan that seats 5 people and carries all of their crap? Answer is always Miata!"

They're great little cars though if you are looking for a two seat, cheap, roadster.
 
Uncool. Almost seriously so.

For the same reasons I listed in the previous MX-5 Cool Wall thread. Only this one sold in minute numbers halfway across the world, and only a ridiculously anal MX-5 fan would be able to tell it apart from the dozens of other editions out there.
 
Uncool. Almost seriously so.

For the same reasons I listed in the previous MX-5 Cool Wall thread. Only this one sold in minute numbers halfway across the world, and only a ridiculously anal MX-5 fan would be able to tell it apart from the dozens of other editions out there.
Actually I'm pretty sure I wouldn't.
 
Natural cool because Miata. Uncool because special edition... ??? coolness for being a rare unicorn of a Miata that, as a card-carrying member of the Mazda fraternity, I didn't even know existed.

Ooh... pretty wheels. SZ. :D
 
So my nomination... Here it goes.

I drive a special edition NB Miata. Blazing Yellow Mica, 1 of 1000 imported to the US. It is a gem of the NB generation. The most power out of the NA 1.8 Motor. Torsen LSD. Every bit that enthusiasts fawn over. No other car manages to get a bigger reaction from people. Children and elderly men both stare. The youth of the nation yell obscenities out from their windows, and every other Miata driver gives you the peace sign out of their windows. Plus the girls at school love the car. :lol:

So uncool. For a special edition Miata to be cool it must have a really nice rare color, or not be particularly special. Nobody will know it is special from the outside which is alright. When they go for a ride they will notice something off. "Is this a Mazdaspeed or aftermarket?" You will then be forced to say that no, this is just a special Mazda of which only 100 were made and strapped with a larger sized turbo to make power. The person will only reply, "Oh, cool."
 
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