Starving an anorexic model may be deemed inhumane but if that means cutting more weight off the feather light Mazda MX-5, than colour us a deep shade of ‘Do want.’ The MX-5 GT is Mazda’s effort, in cooperation with Jota Sport, in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship 2011 that will see it line up against the likes of Aston Martins, Porsches, Lotus’ and BMWs.
Though it seems to be the underdog, Mazda and Jota have some tricks up their sleeves to keep the car competitive and nipping at the heels of the big boys. First up was the preparation of the shell. A total of 400 hours was spent by Jota to build the shell to be up to 17 times stronger than required by the FIA. Weight saving wasn’t discarded as well with the removal of interior parts and the extensive use of carbon fiber for the doors and other components.
To demonstrate the extent that Jota were willing to go to shave some weight off, they even dipped the entire shell in acid to cut down a further 15kg, bringing the total weight to a paper-like 850kg.
With such little mass to haul, a nuclear power plant of an engine wasn’t required and the the 2-liter lump was rebuilt to produce 275hp that is linked to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential paddle shift gearbox. The entire powertrain combo, coupled with the feather-esque weight of the car, allows for a century sprint time of just 3.0-seconds with a top speed of 257km/h.
Of course, the suspension, brakes and wheels were all swapped out for high performance, track spec stuff to tighten up the handling.
The shell has been swathed in a coat of Spirited Green metallic body colour with Jota’s corporate liveries in orange and grey highlighting the exterior. On the inside of the car, you get the mandatory multi-point roll-cage, fire extinguisher, competition steering wheel and a full bucket racing seat to hold the driver in place during hard cornering.
“The MX-5 production race car’s modest power output, bullet proof reliability and nimble handling demonstrated last year how the MX-5 can be competitive against some of the purpose-built Lotus, Volkswagen and BMW race cars,” said Graeme Fudge, Public Relations Director for Mazda UK.
“With a higher power output combined with the durability, reliability and handling attributes that the MX-5 is renowned for; the MX-5 GT race car will be strong contender against the more powerful race cars in its class,” he concluded.
Source: CarScoop
