Perhaps the best thing about the MX-5 is that it can be a blank canvas for you to create your dream roadster. Mazda provides some great core ingredients - low mass evenly distributed, rear-wheel drive, double wishbones all round, a brilliant manual - onto which owners can add however much spice and flavour they desire. It’s been this way for 35 years, and will hopefully continue for as long as there are examples to build on. Because there’s little more glorious on a sunny day than a well-modified MX-5.
The aftermarket caters to allcomers, from those who want a little extra pep from a manifold and a remap to the full-on Rocketeer restomod. But there’s one engine swap that hasn’t happened yet, and it’s one of the best-known of them all: the K swap. When special k doesn’t mean ketamine or your Mum’s cereal, it’s the Honda K Series. Google K Series now and it’s the Wikipedia entry for the Honda engines that comes up first rather than the Rover ones. Begin typing ‘Honda K’ and the second suggested search is ‘Honda K swap’, so prevalent has it become to drop a Civic Type R or Accord Type S engine in. We’ve seen K-powered Lotus Elises, MG Midgets, Honda Jazzes… the Ariel Nomad of course had K24 power. And now we have the first right-hand-drive Mazda MX-5 with a Honda K engine in.
Performance Link had the idea floating around for a while; turns out KPower in the US did as well. Between them, they have figured out the details for making a Honda 2.4 live where a 2.0-litre Duratec once did. While only compatible with the NC for now, they are working on an ND conversion. The K24 sits on bespoke subframes to get it low enough (while reasonably short, it’s a tall engine) though Alex from PL suggests that very little additional modification is required to make it fit. The standard Mazda five-speed is retained, albeit with an adapter plate, lighter flywheel and cryogenic strengthening (literally plunging it into minus 200) to deal with the extra welly. A Haltech ECU keeps everything ticking along as intended; you can see the full list of parts here, the engine essentially rebuilt with a port and polish as the extra goodies are going in. The important news is that with even naughtier cams, new manifolds, better fuelling and a greedier intake, this is a 300hp, 2.4-litre, naturally aspirated, 8,200rpm MX-5. With a red rocker cover.
The car you see has been built with customer track use in mind, and is therefore pretty hardcore, though of course future commissions could be specced as you like if you'd prefer something more fast road biased. This one has Meister R GT1 coilovers, wider wheels and tyres, a two-way limited-slip diff, Carbotech discs, pads and fluid, a lowered floor with bucket seats and an exhaust straight from Super GT. If your VTEC goes ‘bwarrrrp’, this VTEC goes ‘BWARRRRRRP!’. At half the revs. It’s loud alright.
That being said, the advantage of a K24 swap rather than the 2.0-litre K20 is a lick of extra torque from the additional swept capacity. So despite the look and the sound and a rev limiter that’s literally beyond the red paint of the standard tacho, the Performance Link car is relatively easy to bimble around in. There’s no need to chase loads of revs to get meaningful performance from it; if not offering forced induction levels of shove (or probably even 3.0-litre V6 amounts), it feels usefully stronger than any naturally aspirated 2.0-litre MX5 previously has by a margin, and all the time.
Plus, of course, no MX-5 of any stripe has responded like this to revs - or sounded quite so exhilarating in the process. This has always been the appeal of a K swap (along with the durability and relative affordability), and seldom has it been better demonstrated than in an MX-5. Because with bum on the floor, road stretching ahead and wind ruffling past, nothing feels or sounds quite so good as a Honda VTEC climbing on cam around 6,000rpm and screaming its heart out like a super touring car to more than eight grand. The timbre of a K Series remains instantly identifiable, the sound raw and fierce but with proper musicality to it as well. However good four-cylinder MX-5s have been made to sound, they’ve never howled, gargled and honked like this.
If the top end perhaps isn’t quite as rabid as the K20 or F20 Honda engines, the K24 is still insatiably energetic in its upper reaches. And you’d happily trade a bit of 9,000rpm fizz for everyday torque. It’s seriously quick as well; your eyes tend to stay fixed on the rev counter rather than the speedo, and while there are always more revs to go the speed is often higher than it ought to be. Such is five-speed life; a six-speed feels like a must for anyone thinking of a K24 swap, to get more revs more of the time.
As for the rest of this overhaul, it’s pretty extreme. The exhaust booms, the intake is wild, the brakes can snatch and the suspension is unapologetic. As it should be: this is built to embarrass M cars on track, something we’re assured it’s very good at. And there’s undoubtedly fun to have on the road, not least because the Meister Rs lend a layer of polish to the ride not normally found, and turn-in on the wider rubber is laser sharp. Any hint of slack has been eradicated, and if the brakes need some temp to work best then that's the perfect excuse to brake later and harder. Having the driver sit lower on a racier seat, grasping a proper steering wheel, works wonders for the sense of connection with the MX-5 as well. If the Midnight Club soundtrack from 4,000rpm hadn’t done enough.
Crucially, the engine swap hasn’t overwhelmed the MX-5. It doesn’t feel dominated or overawed by the Honda engine, and nor is it suddenly some ponderous rag top or muscle car roadster. As often happens with more power (and some decent supporting mods) in these wonderful little cars, it actually broadens the handling scope even further. The inherent agility remains, complemented further by a keener front end and a rear axle that can be brought more easily into play. There’s even still some wobble through the chassis, for old time’s sake. The temptation would be to call the Performance Link car an amplified MX-5 experience because so many familiar traits remain, but truth be told it feels far more extreme than that - and all the better for it.
Of course, if you want a usefully faster MX-5 that feels like it’s come from the factory, you already know who to call. If you want a modern take on a 3.0-litre Healey, speak to Rocketeer. But if you want a sports car that feels like it’s just set a time attack record at Tsukuba, Performance Link takes the biscuit. Clearly something this intense wouldn’t suit consistent regular road use, but that engine is captivating and the perfect fit for a more raucous MX-5 experience. Its voracious appetite for revs, generous power and stunning soundtrack would surely provide entertainment for a long while yet. Shame Honda themselves never made a sports car this good, really (that is an S2000 gag, for avoidance of doubt).
With the first couple of cars now nearing completion, Alex and the team at Performance Link are still finalising costs. But he reckons that if you arrived at HQ with nothing but £30k and three months to wait (i.e. without a donor car), he could give you something like this at the end as a complete build. The engine swap will be from £12k. So as with surely every modified MX-5 story ever, a familiar conundrum presents itself: while the driving experience more than justifies that amount, what other people will see - and what you will see from the driver’s seat - is an old MX-5 that doesn’t seem to be worth that much. ‘Twas ever thus.
Those thinking about a Boxster for £30k or trying to speculate on an S2000 probably won’t be won over by this. But for anyone who likes the idea of Caterham thrills with a bit more usability, who grew up learning about (and loving) wild Japanese tuner cars, or who is merely intrigued by an NC MX-5 with twice the power - and a whole lot more revs - should absolutely speak to Performance Link. A K24 swapped into an MX-5 may have taken a while, but it’s absolutely as good as we hoped. Yo indeed.
SPECIFICATION | MAZDA MX-5 NC 2.0 (PERFORMANCE LINK R300)
Engine: 2,354cc, four-cyl (1,999cc, four-cyl standard)
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 160@7,000rpm (standard, now c.300)
Torque (lb ft): 139@5,000rpm (standard, now c. 200)
0-62mph: 7.6 secs (standard, now c. five seconds)
Top speed: 132mph (standard, now c. 160mph)
Weight: 1,115kg (standard)
MPG: 38.2 (standard)
CO2: 177g/km (standard)
Price: £see text
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