Like today, the 1930s were a uniquely awful time for most people and like today, it was a great time for grand prix racing. Let’s not look too deeply into that. So why not combine the eras by making a single-seat race car out of a Mazda Miata.
Maybe I’m alone in having previously thought that this would be a great idea, but Ant Anstead, the new mechanic on Wheeler Dealers has only gone and done it.
The Tipo 184 is, frankly, pretty similar to a Caterham Super 7, which is itself based on a classic Grand Prix car. Anstead wants to sell you a kit for which you provide the engine and driveline, which will come from a Miata that, he proposes, has failed its inspection.
The whole deal is still pretty fresh so, for now, Anstead is selling just ten of these kits for £7,499 plus taxes (around $10,000 USD). The offer also includes tuition from Anstead, who will, we presume, help you put the car together.
The specific car being recreated here is the Alfa Romeo Tipo 158, considered one of the most successful grand prix cars ever. It (and its derivatives) took 47 wins from the 54 Grand Prix it entered between 1938 and 1951.
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It was the car that Fangio won his first, and some of his most historic, victories in. Powered by a 1.5-liter straight 8, the car was known as the Alfetta thanks to its diminutive size.
A supercharger bolted to the little eight helped it make 190 hp, so a Miata’s I4 really isn’t that far off the mark. Obviously, no kit is ever quite like the original, but there are certain cases where the value isn’t in the originality so much as it is in the fantasy. Frankly, this seems like one of those cases.
For anyone who’s interested in how this kit came together, Anstead has been documenting parts of the build on his show, Wheeler Dealers.