Miata Restomod Is The Lighter, Faster, V6 Sports Car Of Our Dreams

The company transforms something with a much more humble beginning and a more affordable price tag: Mazda's iconic MX-5 Miata.

In 2026, it plans a new lightweight car that should come in well under a ton to give it a supercar-rivaling power-to-weight ratio. It will also be transforming the third-generation or NC chassis Miata in 2026.

A Lighter, More Powerful Miata Is The Answer
UK-based Rocketeer Cars has a thing for the MX-5, not that we can blame them. Its thing is the restomod, hand-building and rebuilding Mazda's sports cars to give them new interiors, new paint jobs, and other changes to make them more customized to their owner and make them better sports cars.

The company's latest is the Rocketeer Keiryo. The word is Japanese for lightweight, and it describes almost every portion of the experience of the car. It starts with an NA Miata, the first generation of that car.

From there, Rocketeer slashes weight. It doesn't detail the changes, but the company says its weight target is 1,874 pounds. That's around 230 pounds lighter than a factory-fresh NA chassis; it's seriously impressive. That's especially truce since Rocketeer bins the Mazda four-cylinder for something with a lot more oomph. The tiny engine has been replaced with a 3.0-liter V6 that makes 375 horsepower. It has the same power-to-weight ratio as a Ferrari F40 or a Lamborghini Huracán.

The first model is currently in production and set for delivery in early 2026. Rocketeer will build 10 all total, including a less extreme Touring model.

Jaguar V6 Finds A New Home
Rocketeer finds its new engine from a strange source. It's a Jaguar AJ30 V6, which was itself derived from the Ford Duratec you might find in cars like the 1996 Ford Taurus.

The company rightly points out that the V6 was engineered by Porsche for the Blue Oval. Jag's version uses the company's own DOHC aluminum heads, and in stock form it makes as much as 260 horsepower.

Rocketeer will sell you its version of that engine, but it will also turn up the wick. Its various stages cover 295, 325, 360, and, finally, the 375-horsepower option of the Keiryo. It will sell you just the engine, should you want to do your own swap with any of the different power levels.

Rocketeer V6-Powered Mazda MX-5 Miata MX-V6 - 4 copy
Another new car is also now in production. An NC Miata, the third-generation of the car, has gotten the Rocketeer treatment, including that 3.0-liter V6. A 300-horsepower version is under construction and expected to head to its owner early next year.

Rocketeer has more NC cars in the queue, with deliveries expected to happen next year. In case it doesn't have enough on the go, it has also added a licensed installer in the US. It hopes that this will grow the company's business, for while it has completed about 30 cars so far, it has sold 170 engine kits to owners who want the power without shipping a car to England.