Mazda's retro sports car tribute was 20 years ahead of the roadster curve
This is the Mazda Miata Mono-posto concept, revealed at the SEMA modified car show in 2000. That show is known for its crazy cars, and it’s held in Las Vegas, so clearly Mazda North America had to put in a bit of effort to avoid disappointment. Incidentally, you might vaguely recognise the car as a Mazda MX-5, which indeed it was at some point, but it’s called the Miata in North America, which is Japanese for ‘MX-5’.
In an effort to try and evoke classic racing cars of a bygone era, Mazda set the concept gun to stun and deployed some Italian for maximum credibility. Mono-posto – in case you needed reminding of the car’s solo capacity – stands for single seat. The designers had in mind the likes of the Jaguar D-Type or Lotus 11, classic sports cars of the 1950s, channelling the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia or a club race at Oulton Park on a wet Sunday morning.
The only thing the Mono-posto has unfinished is business. Admittedly it does seem to have the air of a car that’s right in the middle of being hammered into a cheap looking knock-off of something far more expensive, but evidently this is how Mazda wanted it to look. And it doesn’t appear to have been a cheap job, either, judging by the quality of the kitchen sink that was thrown at it.
Someone has taken to the windscreen with an angle grinder, replacing the gaping chasm it left behind with a sleek one-piece valance. Half-doors have been added for increased stiffness, but also to make it especially difficult to get in and out. To complete the look, the Mono-posto runs on 18-inch, five-spoke Racing Hart rims and there’s a centrally mounted rear-view mirror, just like in the olden times. Only the lights and rear bootlid remain from the standard car.
Pop the hood on the Mono-posto and you’ll find the standard 1839cc engine from the second-generation MX-5, complete with its super sweet five-speed manual – but, of course, a few upgrades have been made in the process of creating this show car. Mazda’s engineers have added an HKS turbocharger and intercooler, special manifolds and a stainless steel centrally-exiting exhaust that all combine their efforts to boost horsepower to 187bhp and 243lb ft. And let’s not forget that purposeful looking hole in the bonnet. No performance figures from Mazda, but given how light the standard MX-5 is, you could probably pick this thing up and pop it in a soft bag between drives to keep it safe.
There’s not really an inside on this car, pretty much everywhere on it is outside. That said, the lucky driver of this MX-5 study gets a minimalist cockpit – there’s nothing but a few dials here, a Momo steering wheel that shows Mazda means business and a lightweight Sparco race seat. The tiny screen provides scant relief from the onslaught of wind, and we’d be very nervous about rolling in this. Helmet definitely obligatory – so that no one recognises you on the move, if nothing else.
Indeed they are – carmakers are positively queuing up to flog their best customers chopped up versions of their standard production cars sans roof and relieving them of cool sums of money in the process. Would a special edition single-seater MX-5 go like gangbusters with the collecting crowd? Probably not, but we’d like to live in a world where people would slam down their deposits and demand the right to a Mono-posto.
Sadly we don’t live in a world where folks are queuing up with blank cheques for incredibly impractical versions of mid-range Japanese convertibles. Whether cars like this get the green light or not though, it’s pleasing that every now and then free-range car designers are given the time and resources to scamper about and have some fun.
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