It's become common knowledge that the Mazda MX-5 is one of the most fun cars you can drive, but some guys with beards prove it can also be pretty darn quick.
There are a lot of TV series where some chaps set off to buy cheap cars and then race them one way or the other with minimum (or non-existent) modifications. One such show was actually called TopGear and for years it was the most watched on the planet.
But these guys - who I can only suspect are Greek based on their accent and their difficulty in pronouncing the "C" sound - have all it takes to make it to stardom. They're funny, they have beards (well, one of them does) and seem to know how to drive (well, one of them does).
They're currently in the middle of a little project called RingBanana which involves a yellow Mazda MX-5 they bought over the internet for something like 1,000 euros (around $1,150 at today's rates). There's no other way to put it: that's really cheap.
The first thing they went out to do was drive the car as it was around the Nurburgring, in order to get a reference lap-time. Getting into a 1,000 euros car and driving it to the limit on a racetrack like the 'Ring takes some serious cojones. But they found the right guy for the job - and no, he's not the one with the beard.
They managed to complete the lap in 9:21.8, which is pretty decent. Their ongoing project will befit the yellow fun car with various technical improvements, each getting a run on the track after its installment.
The first such upgrade was, contrary to one of the guy's very persistent suggestions they should work on suspensions, a set of new tires. They went for Kumho V70-A semi-slick road-legal rubber because "it was free". If this turns out to be just a big publicity stunt for Kumho, we still wouldn't mind since it was great fun. But we're sure it isn't.
The tire-swap proved to be a good call, the Mazda marginally managing to run a lap in under nine minutes (8:59.9). The upgrades should continue to flow, so expect more videos in the future. We strongly suggest you subscribe to these guys' channel as any car show that features grown men drawing penises on a yellow car deserves our attention.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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