I'd do this with the GRM guys if they're game, but it's R&T who did it 
Sam Smith took on 19 Miatas in a weekend at Laguna Seca, and wrote it up the way that only Sam Smith can. Watch out, it's a long one. And you might recognize one of the cars from a user avatar here...
Great article - thanks for sharing the link.
What a dangerous article to read for a guy with an NA Miata, a little cash in the bank, and seasonal affective disorder.
Keith, congrats on development of the V8 ND. Some amazing engineering going on there.
Keith Tanner wrote: And you might recognize one of the cars from a user avatar here...
You might! It was even taken at Laguna, albeit at a previous event.
"I am going to build one of these.
It's going to happen.
My wife is either going to kill me or understand completely."
Love that line - figures it would come after he drove a car that Keith built.
"Even when you get a corner right, you spend straights counting your toes and cleaning dust off the shift boot."
God that was brilliant writing.
And every damn time I read about the V8 ND I want to sell the V wagon and scrounge the rest of the money and get one. I hate you so much Keith.
right when I thought I had figured out what I wanted in my next Miata...... (I'll still take the smurf off of you if you move on!)
Great article. So many brilliant one-liners.
Funnily enough, i think this is one of the rare instances of something fairly mainstream in the car community that actually affirms my (usually off-putting and un-relatable) choice to have ~19 cars, with many of them being variations on a fairly similar foundation, while enjoying the differences in approach and result in all of them. I'm still crazy, though. 
Great article. Thanks for sharing, even though you have a vested interest. ;)
He loved the ND with FM suspension.
Decision made. Shopping commenced. Watch for a build thread sometime after March (when money situation improves.) Additionally, this guy is hilarious. I love his Jeremy Clarkson-esque sense of humor. Off to go find more of his work...
This guy?!?!
No, not that guy
This whole article came about because I pinged Sam with an offer to drive the V8 ND. Not for publicity purposes, but because I wanted to read the article he'd write 
That's why I contacted him directly.
Then he came back with this wild idea to drive everything. FM wasn't really involved, I was just the coordinator because I'm an organizer of the event and I know how to get lots of Miatas together. I donated my garage at the event to Sam for this. The FM enthusiasm in the article was simply because he just happened to like the stuff we worked on. He and I had a lot of talks about suspension setup and tuning, he was really interested in all that. Oh, and he's possibly more fun to hang out with than he sounds like. Get him going on the Alfa 4C and you'll wet yourself.
He's a heck of a driver. Sam's driven at the Goodwood Revival, is a regular at the Monterey Historics and has raced both Spec Miata and a Global MX-5 Cup car. He also gives good feedback - he gave Zandr a shock tweak suggestion that proved to be right on the money.
That article made me miss my NA.
Great article!
I had to share this on the book of faces just to further push my agenda of Miata love on my friends and family.
Thanks for sharing Keith. I love his writing and was sad when he left Roundel. Happy to read his stuff in R&T though. His article about driving a Porsche 962 was great.
His perspective on all the different Miatas was really interesting. I hope to continue to evolve my NB for fun on track, and this overview gives me lots of ideas!
Always love his articles. I've still never owned a Miata, but that article has pushed me a little bit closer, haha.
Awesome article!
I've raced in the MX-5 cup car with Sam, at AER! He's faster than me. Much faster.
Cooper_Tired wrote: Great article! I had to share this on the book of faces just to further push my agenda of Miata love on my friends and family.
I did that too! I'm trying to sell a Miata as well, so I figured it was a good enticement...
That's an excellent article. I like Sam's writing as well as the other folks at R&T. I'd given up on R&T a few years ago, but it seems like they've come back somewhat. In fact last year I decided to re-subscribe again after a long hiatus. (Cost for 2 year subscription was twelve bucks I think).
sirrichardpumpaloaf wrote: This guy?!?!
While that Sam Smith has an amazing voice, I seriously doubt he cares in the slightest about cars.
While I have no evidence to the contrary, I'm not sure we want to hear "our" Sam on vinyl.
dyintorace wrote: Thanks for sharing Keith. I love his writing and was sad when he left Roundel. Happy to read his stuff in R&T though. His article about driving a Porsche 962 was great.
Thanks for the read, that was another great one: http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-comparison-tests/features/a25128/legends-the-porsche-962-and-918-face-off-at-indy/
Searching Sam Smith on the R&T website is preparation for a good read. I don't know if his Copperstate 500 story made it online, it's hilarious. And his 24h of Le Mans does a great job of capturing the delirium of working a 24h race.
Here's another fun one for you that betrays that he can also drive a bit.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28168/red-bloodline-1934-alfa-romeo-tipo-b-p3-2015-alfa-romeo-4c-spider/
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