Not sure where to put this thread as it really isn't 3rd-gen specific at all. Is there a general Mazda discussion forum here? Hmm.

Someone at Mazda let Grassroots Motorsports into their basement at their R&D facility. The video is long but it starts off right away briefly looking at a couple FDs (the only LHD Spirit-R that Carlos Lago did a piece on for Motor Trend, back in 2012, and a beautiful CW R2 that Fritz would love to be able to sell ) before looking at a 10th anniversary FC.

From there it starts looking at a bunch of other cool Mazdas in their collection, although I haven't had time to watch the whole thing yet. Pretty cool.

Check it out:
edit: Board is doing funky things with YouTube link embeds. Here's a link to the Carlos Lago piece on the LHD Spirit-R that you've probably all seen.

 

cool video, thanks for sharing

 

Lots of history on Mazdas in 48 minutes.

 

I remember seeing someone claim that the supposed LHD 2002 Spirit R is actually just a '93 with a paint job and a bunch of parts on it. It certainly doesn't have the Spirit interior pieces, which makes sense b/c they were never made for LHD. I wish someone could actually get the VIN to figure it out for sure.

I'd love to get a detailed story on what that car actually is and how it came to be here.

 

Actually, just re-watched the beginning of the motor trend video and (1) they say they "retrofitted" a LHD RX-7 with Spirit R parts, and (2) you can easily see that the engine bay is not a later RX-7; it has the older intake tube that was phased out with the updated bumper.

Makes me think this isn't a "LHD Spirit R" anymore than anyone else who takes an R1, paints it, and puts on Recaros and the BBS wheels. Kinda annoying because there are a ton of articles spinning it as some kind of one-off late production car sent to the US.

If it's a LHD 2002 Spirit R it's probably the most valuable FD in the world. If it's an R1 with some mods, it's... an R1 with some mods.

 

Actually actually, watching the rest of the video, it isn't an R1. It has the strut brace, but it's got a sunroof and on the lift it didn't look like it had the passenger oil cooler. Not sure if it was possible to get a Spirit R with a sunroof.

 

Hmm, I figured it was a one-off with a manufacturer plate that couldn't be titled here.

 

Maybe now's the time for a coupe Miata.
Unless they have the next rotary coupe/Furai/RX-7/etc. ready for unveiling and production