The original generation (aka NA) Mazda Miata is a remarkably simple sports car that, when optioned properly, gives owners everything they want by barely giving they everything they need. To add something to it is to naturally remove some of that purity, and yet, the ND-powered NM Concept by Gorgona Cars manages to out-Miata the urMiata in some key ways.
Unsurprisingly, this barchetta-style Miata is the work of an engineer (David Galliano) and an Italian car journalist (Omar Abu Eideh). Even in Europe Miata is always the answer. The genesis of this particular vehicle, also unsuprisingly, seems to have started over drinks:
It is a mild evening and they are talking about sports and light cars, beautiful to drive. They are talking about MX-5, then. At that precise moment, they start to think how to improve the first generation MX-5 and how to make an “NA” more beautiful to look at and to drive. A tribute to the first Miata.
The result of a long brainstorming is the “NM concept”: it’s a Naked Monoposto (italian for single-seater) made from a restored NA. It has a modified chassis and improved components. A light and powerful little “barchetta” (in Italy this name defines a sports car without the windshield), faithful to the original mechanical architecture – made of a four-cylinder front engine, manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive – and designed to enhance the pure analogue driving pleasure.
A modified, Singer-ized Miata isn’t the most original idea, but they seem to have done a good job with this one aesthetically. Mazda themselves tried something like this with the NB Mono Posto concept and this looks approximately a million times better.
The door sills have been raised halfway up the vehicle to add more structural rigidity and better crash protection. The windshield is gone, as is the passenger compartment, and instead there’s a single opening for the (presumably) helmeted driver. The little pod behind the driver features an integrated roll bar, since this is something you’d definitely be encouraged to drive to the track. As with all things Miata, the shorter you are the better everything will work.
If there’s one detail I’m glad they didn’t change is the nose. Other than the addition of a black splitter, the large opening and pop-up headlights are more-or-less where you expect them.
Inside, gauges are borrowed from the ND Miata and the driver is given the bare minimum of what’s needed: A MOMO steering wheel, a shifter, an e-brake, an ignition button and not much else.
What’s the point of the ND gauges? Besides being modern, they pair well with the ND-supplied 2.0-liter Mazda four-banger. The engine is seemingly stock and produces 181 horsepower in stock form, or 225 horsepower with the optional power kit. The original NA Miata had 116 horsepower, so this is a nice upgrade, especially when you consider the option for a sub-2,000-pound curb weight.
This isn’t just a one-off, either, as Gorgona Cars wants to build a few of these things for interested parties at a cost of approximately €70,000, which is approximately $70,000 depending on when you check. A limited-run, handbuilt-in-Italy Miata might seem like a ridiculous notion when used ones are still fairly cheap, but I find this oddly alluring and extremely thoughtful.
Plus, the wait’s gotta be shorter than for a Singer.