The Hot Version racers are tough judges when it comes to rating the tuned cars they get to drive in their videos. Though the Miata is a regular contender in many of their reviews, this is a special breed of Miata. Known in Japan as the Roadster, this little Mazda has had its standard four cylinder motor replaced with – wait for it – a rotary engine! Though the stock Miata already boasts some stellar front-end grip, the smaller, lighter rotary allows for engine placement to be further back and lower down, improving turn-in and lowering the overall center of gravity.

This Roadster means war.

If that wasn’t enough, the mildly-tuned Renesis engine from an RX-8 makes around 200 horsepower, which is roughly thirty over that of the stock powerplant. However, it’s the cornering speeds which see the most dramatic improvement. Already no slouch in stock form, the Miata hustles through the high-speed section with ease. Nobuteru Taniguchi keeps the throttle pinned through the quick s-bends and yet the front tires aren’t pushed to their limit. The adage “it handles like a go-kart” usually falls a bit short of reality, but in this case, it’s pretty accurate.

Though the rear end is a bit soft and leads to some oversteer in the slower corners, the additional turn-in speed seems to make up for that. Couple that with the wonderful bee-in-a-tin-can sound from the two rotor engine, and you’ve got an amazing package that will outcorner cars worth ten times the price. Worthy of a swap? Considering the price, it’s gotta be.