The NC Mazda Miata has spent its entire life as the middle child nobody fights over. Too pudgy for purists, too old for the Instagram crowd, too overshadowed by the original NA’s legend and the ND’s razor-sharp focus. U.K.-based Rocketeer just handed it a 300-horsepower argument.
The company, founded by Bruce Southey, has been stuffing Jaguar-derived V-6 engines into Miatas since 2013, starting with the first-generation NA. The formula has now reached the NC chassis, and the numbers tell a story the car’s critics will have trouble dismissing.
The engine is a Ford Duratec 3.0-liter V-6, the same unit found in the Jaguar S-type. It carries engineering DNA from Porsche and Cosworth, appeared in a handful of Fast Fords and the occasional Morgan, and its aluminum block actually weighs less than the iron four-cylinder in the early Miatas. That means no weight penalty for more than doubling the NC’s stock output.
Rocketeer claims over 300 naturally aspirated horsepower, achieved with a carbon-fiber intake and a free-flowing exhaust. No supercharger, no turbo, no boost. The engine sits far enough back in the NC’s bay to preserve the factory 50/50 weight distribution, which means the chassis balance Mazda spent years tuning stays intact.
Pricing is where things get interesting. A full turn-key NC build, engine swapped but otherwise running factory Mazda suspension, brakes, and interior, starts at the equivalent of $28,000. That puts it in the same territory as a lightly used ND Miata.
For those who prefer wrenching, Rocketeer sells the engines separately, starting around $8,000 for a slightly detuned version. And you no longer need to ship your car to England. Rocketeer announced a U.S. partner operation in Kansas last year, meaning American NC owners can get the work done domestically.
Supply chain costs will adjust the final price tag, but the basic proposition remains: a naturally aspirated V-6 Miata for less than a new Civic Type R. The NC deserves this kind of second look. It is roomier than the ND, less claustrophobic for anyone over six feet, and its aftermarket support network runs deep.
Coilovers, big brake kits, sway bars, differential upgrades. The platform was always capable. It just needed someone to hand it more power without ruining the recipe.
Mazda’s own engineers have said the ND was designed to be sharper than the NC, and it is. But sharpness can be built. The NC’s slightly softer bones make it a better canvas for someone who wants to dial in their own balance of comfort and aggression.
Three hundred horsepower and a six-speed manual in a car that weighs under 2,600 pounds is not a restomod fantasy. It is a weekend project with a realistic budget. The restomod world has become obsessed with seven-figure Singers and million-dollar builds wearing vintage shells.
Rocketeer is operating at the opposite end of that spectrum, where the car costs less than a bathroom renovation and the engineering is straightforward enough to service in a home garage. Southey started this business in a shed. Twelve years later, the operation has crossed the Atlantic and is rewriting the reputation of a car most enthusiasts skip over in classified listings.
NC prices remain soft compared to the NA and NB, which means the donor car itself is still affordable. The question is how long that lasts once word spreads that the “worst” Miata now makes more power than a GR Supra.
Share this Story