This is what 4,500 hp worth of V8 Miatas looks like

Zach Bowman — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 12:03:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Convertible, Performance, Mazda

A strange thing happened at this year's Flyin' Miata Summer Camp. The crew hosts a day of seminars covering everything from new products to a timing belt how-to, and this year, a total of 11 V8 conversions showed up in the same room. There are many ways to pull over 400 horsepower from a Mazda Miata, but few are more entertaining than plopping a honkin' American V8 behind the headlights.

The shop routinely plays host to Keith Tanner's delicious Targa Miata as well as the company's NB development mule, Elvis, and his NC sister, Betty, but with six customer cars with FM V8 conversions on hand plus two homebrew specials hanging about, the total hit an all-time high.

No one's throwing out any specific numbers, but estimates put the final horsepower figure at around 4,500 ponies. For perspective, you'd need to amass around 27 stock NC models to crest the same number. Cue the mad-scientist laughter.

This year marked the 15th Flyin' Miata Summer camp, and fans of the brand trekked from as far as Maine and Florida for five days of on-track shenanigans, group drives and seminars by the FM staff. Check it out below as well as a full gallery from the shindig.

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This is what 4,500 hp worth of V8 Miatas looks like originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why are Saudi youths mounting cars on brick plinths?

John Neff — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Middle East, Design/Style

We're not going to pretend that everything American kids do with their cars makes sense. Ghost riding, tray sliding and soaping sayings like "Sexy Seniors 2012 XOXOXO!!!" on car windows comes to mind. To be young and a car owner (or car borrower, in the case of most kids) often means doing strange and stupid stuff with your ride, and this rite of passage appears to cross all cultures.

These images of Saudi youths mounting their cars on brick plinths appeared online this morning without much context to explain why they're doing it or even how. The wire images only come with a caption that reads...

Saudi youths lift their sport utility vehicle (SUV) with stones and bricks in the tourist area of al-Habla 50km south of the city of Abha in the southern part of the kingdom on July 12, 2012. Young Saudi males gather in al-Habla for a summer camp to escape the blazing Gulf summer heat and spend time mounting their cars on display.

They're at summer camp, so perhaps a badge for car mounting is at stake, or maybe this is the best way to prevent the sweltering Arabian sun from melting their tires. Toyota models of every vintage and description appear to be the favorites, but there are also Mitsubishi and Mazda models getting the stonework treatment. Regardless of the reason, the sight brings us back to our own youth when driving a car was license enough to do something silly with it. Check out more of this bizarre pastime in our high-res gallery.

Why are Saudi youths mounting cars on brick plinths? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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