The radiator core volume is increased, and a tube-fin, air to air intercooler added. Piston shapes were also reconfigured to handle the added fuel-air mixture. The results give the turbo Miata two distinct personalities. Driven at normal shift points, the turbo’s added power is barely noticeable. Leave your shoe in it, though, and it’s a different story. Just as the tach crests 5,000 rpm, the turbo wakes up, and the Miata surges ahead briskly to the 6,500 redline. The beefed-up shifter has lost none of its benchmark smoothness, so it’s a quick snick from cog to cog. 0-60 times are reported in the mid to high 6 second range, which is a good 1½ ticks faster than the normally aspirated model. Even with six gears, the Miata is well wound up at speed. Rolling at 70 mph, you’re turning 3,600 rpm.

Of course, this added bark wouldn’t be as much fun if the handling had lost its bite. It hasn’t. The standard Miata chassis - a study in stickiness and tossability - has been tuned (stiffened), lowered (7mm) and strengthened (bigger stabilizers, front strut tower brace) in the interest of keeping up with the driveline. It retains all the things people have traditionally liked about Miatas – flat, nimble handling, nicely weighted steering (here, with a quicker ratio) and an overall balanced, forgiving nature. The tradeoff is a ride that’s a skosh harder than basic Miatas, but not enough to raise an eyebrow, except on choppy pavement.