That's pretty spectacular.
While production street cars are produced in the hundreds per day, race cars are typically handcrafted one-at-a-time, over many months. The new Mazda MX-5 Cup race car hit a significant milestone this week with the 100th car ordered since the first example was completed on November 21, 2015.
The Battery Tender MX-5 Cup is the signature spec series for the Mazda Road to 24, the sports car counterpart to the Mazda Road to Indy. On both paths, Mazda-powered champions earn a Mazda scholarship to advance their career. The MX-5 Cup champion earns a $200,000 scholarship.
Bottom line, we’re happy to announce a big milestone reached by one of the most supportive manufacturers of the amateur racing community.
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That's pretty spectacular.
100 in the U.S. is pretty spectacular. That's 100 just in the U.S., right?
DWNSHFT wrote: 100 in the U.S. is pretty spectacular. That's 100 just in the U.S., right?
That would be ironic, if it's the Global MX-5 cup. Even at this number, the rumors I'm hearing from the track is that demand outpaces production by a fair margin, so you better buy a couple and try really hard to stay off the Armco.
In reply to DWNSHFT:
Yes it sounds like it. Quote from John Doonan, director of motorsports, Mazda North American Operations:
"When we announced this program, we set our target at 50 cars in the U.S. in 2016. To double that goal in less than a year is a huge endorsement by our customers that they see this car as the best value in sports car racing today."
How is the Cup car different from the production version?
They start as pure production cars, not bodies in white. They're caged, obviously. They run a spec suspension (Motion Control, much better than the Spec Miata stuff), GEMS ECU, coolers on every fluid and a full exhaust. I think that's basically it.
The guys at Long Road Racing have been working really, really hard.
As a side note, if you want ultra-low-mileage stock parts such as seats or shocks or exhausts, they're selling the take-off parts.
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