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US buyers of the new Mazda MX-5 can option Brembo brakes, Bilstein suspension and forged BBS wheels. Should we envy them?
WHAT IS IT? A honed version of the much lauded Mazda MX-5. This is the US Club spec with uprated suspension and brakes, and with the option box for weight-saving BBS forged alloys ticked, too.
WHY WE’RE DRIVING IT The pack is offered on US-spec MX-5s (the MX-5 is called Miata there), as a factory option. Mazda Oz has a history of offering Bilstein packs and similar upgrades for previous MX-5s. While not confirmed, you wouldn’t be foolish to bet on this pack coming here once the box-fresh MX-5 has been on sale for a few years.
MAIN RIVALS Toyota 86 Blackline Edition, Subaru BRZ
The US market misses out on the 1.5-litre engine that we get here, instead starting off with 16-inch wheels on the 2.0-litre entry-model, making the 17-inch alloys on the Club worth the step up on their own for US buyers. The BBS package goes further, swapping those 17s for lighter, stronger, forged versions of the German wheel-maker’s classical mesh design. They’re wrapped in 245/45 Bridgestone Potenza SE001 rubber, the same as the boots fitted on Australian market models. And they house bigger brakes, in the form of Brembo 290mm, four-piston units up front, with a single piston squeezing 279mm rotors at the rear.
On road, the changes allow you to push the MX-5 – and yourself – even further. The increased stiffness allows you to exploit the crisp turn-in on those 17-inch wheels, which already have an (ever so slight) edge when compared with the 16-inch versions. That precise, honed attitude – with dive and squat under hard braking and acceleration, and roll during festive cornering, even better controlled – lets you lean on the tyres more, and make more use of the Bridgestones’ shoulders on a spaghetti-like winding road.
The alacrity and precision of the front end brings stunning poise, with the Bilstein shocks sharpening the MX-5 yet not pushing its ride over the edge into a brittle oblivion. There’s still suppleness and compliance over bumps, ruts and surface changes that means this remains a liveable, comfortable daily driver, and yet it unlocks another level of the roadster’s already abundant chassis talent.
SPECS Model: Mazda MX-5 Club BBS Pack Engine: 1998cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max power: 118kW @ 6000rpm Max torque: 200Nm @ 4600rpm Transmission: 6-speed manual Weight: 1047kg 0-100km/h: 7.3sec (claimed) Fuel economy: 6.9L/100km Price: $32,820 (US) On sale: N/A
