Would You Have Bought This V8-Powered Off-Road Miata For $14,000?

What does one do when they want a small two-door coupe and they also want an off-roader but they don’t want to maintain two vehicles? Well, you take the acronym and phrase Miata is always the answer literally. And you end up with this V8-powered Safari-style Mazda MX-5 with mud tires and a lift kit.

This one in particular doesn’t seem to be the hardcore hack job that so many others end up like. From tip to tail the details are clean and well-sorted. Take a quick look at the front end and that starts to become obvious.

The 302ci Ford V8 under the hood makes an appearance with its air cleaner exposed through the sheet metal. Pop it up and you’ll see Ford Racing valve covers and clean wiring throughout the bay. Ahead of the engine is a huge bull bar and skid plate flanked with 27×8.5-inch Forceum tires and 14-inch Bassett wheels.

Read: Could You Bring Yourself To Butcher This Pristine 7K-Mile Miata?

Power is sent to the rear pair of tires through a five-speed manual transmission and a 7.5-inch differential. A Paco Motorsports lift kit and Tokico adjustable coilovers support the car. Aftermarket LED headlights along with KC HID roof-mounted auxiliary lighting makes it easy to see both on and off-road. A Hard Dog roll bar inside of the cabin ensures that occupants have an extra layer of safety should this thing ever end up on its roof.

The whole package just traded hands over on Bring a Trailer for a cool $14,000. The real question is whether or not you think it’s worth that kind of coin. Considering the extensive customizations, this feels like a decent price to pay.

Personally, I’m not sure I get the point of a car like this other than its general novelty. Sure, it’s weird, and sure, it’ll turn heads. But at the same time, it’s now completely devoid of the driving character it was designed to have. It’s also not all that capable off-road and while I can’t say that from personal experience with the car, the picture showing the radiator below the skid plate tells me all I need to know.