Like how Vaughn Gittin Jr. is instantly related to drifting Mustangs, ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett and his Mazdas are no strangers in the drifting world. And after creations like the twin-turbo quad-rotor MADBUL RX7 and the equally crazy BADBUL RX8, we thought that these two will be more than enough for him to go sideways wildly on drift events. Apparently, that is not the case.
To show off the ability of his latest ride in the garage, this video takes us all the way to the Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand. And his chariot for the day will be his new Mazda MX-5 that goes with the name of ‘RADBUL’.
It probably would not take long for one to realize that this is no ordinary Miata judging from its massive rear wing, the signature touch of TRA Kyoto Rocket Bunny kit widening up the wheel arches, and the roll cage cocooning the driver. All those are impressive, but what we would really like to know is what powers this RADBUL that makes it a Monster Miata.
Keen to prove that this Miata is not just another hairdresser’s car, Mike originally planned to put in a turbocharged three-rotor 20B engine similar to the one powering the RX8. Not that it was a bad idea, it was not until they stripped the car down that they realized that the MX5 actually offers a lot of space to play in the engine bay.
And with that in mind, the three-rotor motion is shelved and in goes a twin-turbocharged 2.6-liter four-rotor Mazda rotary engine that pushes out more than 1000-horsepower on its most conservative tune. The engine was designed and built at Pulse Performance Race Engineering in Whanganui.
So how does a small car like the MX5 feels like with over 1,000-horsepower on the tap? “I have driven some quick cars over the years, but nothing even comes close to how fast this thing is,” he says. “With the short wheelbase and the power to weight ratio of more than one horsepower per kilogram we knew it would be a handful, but from a balance point of view I could tell right away that it’s got so much more potential than any of my other cars. That doesn’t mean it’s any less crazy though – I was shaking the first time I drove it.”
