Revamping a Miata To Make Something New
Gorgona Cars, a start-up based in Rome, has released their first solo driver restomod, turning an old school Mazda MX-5 NA Miata into an Italian Barchetta.
Written by Lauren Smith
Reviewed by Serena Aburahma
One joy of owning a car is customizing it with seat covers, stickers, and fun license plates. Still, some people go further, digging deeper into the car and changing it, whether it’s turbocharging it or other types of
modifications
within legal options. Mazda
’s can be fun to modify. The Italian company Gorgona Cars decided to do this with their NM Concept car, which has turned a Mazda Miata into a single seater, no windshields or frills, total driver focus Italian Barchetta Restomod.Building a Barchetta Restomod out of a Miata
Gorgona Cars built their Barchetta on a restored Mazda MX-5 NA chassis, and long-time fans can recognize the vehicle from the lower half of the car. The upper half of the car is where things get a little shocking for those not expecting it.
If you ever built a car for a soapbox derby as a kid and wanted to race around as an adult, this car is for you.
“One-piece seat, “single-seat” cover, four-point belt. No room for distractions, only for driving,” according to
Gorgona Cars
. In this vehicle, the passenger seat and the back seats do not exist. Instead, there’s only a sparse space for the driver. The sparse– er minimalist interior includes a flat floor, carpet, a metal plate, and a rubber-enclosed shifter, and the wheel has been swapped out with a Momo piece. The dash is what you’d expected from an ND MX-E, with gauges and starter buttons.
However, you’re going to need a helmet to drive this car. There isn’t a windshield, something required in the United States for vehicles, so if you ordered one from Gorgona Cars, you’d need to work with them to get a custom windshield.
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A racing car through and through in this Miata turned Barchetta Restomod
This car is not the car to take to help your mother run errands or to move. It is a solo vehicle built for racing. From the Mazda Miata roots still visible in the door handles and throughout the vehicle to the lightness of this 1,830-pound vehicle.
This Barchetta Restomod runs on an ND MX-5 4-cylinder engine that can reach 181 horsepower via the Skyactiv 2.0-liter engine found rearward. For future vehicles, Gorgona Cars offers a power kit to make that Skyactiv output go up to 225 horsepower.
If you want a car like this for the pure joy of driving in an analog style, then, according to
Motortrend
, you’ll need to find a donor car for the Gorgona Cars team to tinker with and 70,000 dollars, tax not included. MORE: The 1980 Corvette: A Ride Smoother Than Santana
Saving on your car insurance
A lot goes into a car after it’s built, not just hitting the open road and enjoying the ride. You have to care for, maintain and insure your vehicle. And make sure that any modifications you include on your car
are legal
. It can get expensive, so it’s good to ensure you’re saving where you can. A great trick for this is comparison shopping.
You can do this with every step of car ownership, from calling around to check how much it’d cost for repairs at different mechanics, comparing the price of parts, and of course, comparing the price of car insurance.
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