This Mental Monster Miata With V8 Power Conquers All At Drag Strip

Not long after Mazda debuted the MX-5 Miata, folks began swapping out the stock four-cylinder for thumping American V8 engines. One company even offered a fairly convenient conversion that was marketed as the Monster Miata, but the Miata in this clip from 1320video is truly a monster of epic proportions.

According to the video, the owner of this wild Miata is Tony Thompson and he loves ripping this thing down the drag strip. The car is well-suited for such action, starting with a built Ford V8 engine up front. We aren't given details on the mill; the Boss 302 decals on the fenders suggest it's a tried-and-true 5.0-liter but we're told it's a stroker motor, so the displacement is likely quite a bit more than that. It's also connected to an old-school manual transmission, so Thompson is shifting this thing like crazy going down the track. How cool is that?

And he does a lot of shifting. In addition to the big engine, this Miata now has a beefy 9-inch solid rear axle with ladder bars and massive tires. It's the preferred setup for launching hard and going straight, and this Miata can reach 145 mph at the end of the quarter-mile. We see him make low-10-second passes throughout this clip, and he says he's gone as quick as 9.71 seconds. Watching this car launch like a crazed sasquatch on cocaine, we have no problem believing that.

Miata purists might frown over the destruction of its weight balance and handling prowess, but holy cow is this guy having all kinds of fun. Racing at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana, he dispatches every competitor in his class, including an older SN95 Mustang Cobra Jet that was purpose-built by Ford for drag racing. And perhaps the best part? The crazy Miata is street legal, so after besting all challengers, he drove home with a smile.