The new MX-5 gets its first tune-up

By topgear ,

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This is our first taste of the new Mazda MX-5 in modified form. It's a brief but tantalising one, given that we've not yet driven the standard car.

BBR - they of MX-5 supercharging fame - have already got their doodling pens out, making choice tweaks to the dinky new roadster.

And this is our first look. Neat, eh? "Our current customer base requests subtle bodywork alterations", BBR tells us, and that's exactly the tastes they've catered for.

There's a smart little bootlid spoiler, more muscular side skirts and some nifty black alloy wheels. We can also spy an exhaust pipe or two protruding from the rear diffuser.

Of course, you don't just want a dinky little spoiler and some natty rims. BBR knows that. So it's already promised a hike to around 200bhp from the MX-5's 2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, a rise of around 35bhp.

And that's before it indulges in a bit of forced induction, adding either a turbo or supercharger for something we'd presume approaches 250bhp.

It's still early doors, so firmer performance numbers or prices are conspicuous by the absence. But BBR has a reputation for some cost effective little boosts to the world's best-selling sports car.

Are you excited for a tuned-up MX-5? What mods would you like to see come to fruition?