The recipe’s a simple but effective one: take one small car, bolt in a massive engine, strap in, hold on tight. This is the Rocketeer NC, a Mk3 Mazda MX-5 with a Ford V6 stuffed in its nose. You’ll know this recipe from Rocketeer’s NA (Mk1 MX-5) and NB (Mk2) cars, of course, so it’s only fair the Mk3 version of the world’s best-selling roadster had its time in the sun.
Or, more accurately, its time in the gym. The Ford V6—the post-2003 ‘AJ30’ 3.0-liter that saw service in the Mondeo, Jaguar S-Type, X-Type and even the XF and was originally a design bought from Porsche—produces a meaty 296hp and 359Nm. At least for now, Rocketeer is calling this its ‘standard’ spec.
That engine gets a carbon-fiber intake (rorty), a new exhaust (sporty), a new throttle body, clutch and flywheel (can’t think of another rhyme, sorry), while that Cosworth cylinder head has been tweaked so it doesn’t get headbutted by the MX-5’s bulkhead.
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Otherwise, the chassis and subframe structures remain the same as when it left Japan. As does the weight (just over a ton) and the weight distribution (50:50). Rocketeer assures us “the new model transforms the existing car with the characterful, high-revving V6 powerplant.”
It apparently took 18 months of late nights and possibly some swearing to reach a position where an old MX-5 can safely accommodate and then deliver three hundred Ford horsepowers while still maintaining what makes an MX-5 good. “This has been a full re-engineering project from the ground up, starting with the engine, and working through each element to ensure that none of the character or essence of the original is lost,” said Rocketeer MD Bruce Southey.
“When it was originally launched, the Mazda MX-5 reset the benchmark for handling and driveability, and we have worked tirelessly to make sure that we bring the Rocketeer approach to every engineering decision,” he added.
And the result of those engineering decisions will start from £25k (around P2,099,163) + VAT—so a nice, round £30,000 (P2,518,447) for an old car with an old engine transformed into something that’d give modern stuff a run for its money. Good recipe, no? We drove the Mk1 earlier this year, and came away with one conclusion: “we need cars like the Rocketeer.”
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Nimor changes have been made.
