The hooligans from OneLapHeroes are at it again, this time with their turbocharged Miata trying to dethrone some of the big guns at the Nordschliefe. It has to be said, that while these cars can’t be considered honest competitors, all parties are far from dawdling around the legendary Nurburgring.

As a measure of performance and capability, it’s nonetheless an interesting comparison. After all, the GT3 RS is the unofficial track day tool of choice, so much so that people are spending $100,000 over sticker prices to get their hands on one of these finely-tuned scalpels. The 488 is no slouch either, and obviously has the straight line advantage here, as one would expect with a 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 and 660 horsepower.

Nevertheless, an NA Miata with a turbocharger bolted-on makes enough power to keep the two high-dollar exotics in sight – as long as the corners aren’t too fast and the straights are relatively short. In reality, it’s not the Begi Turbo kit with a GT2554 running at 14 pounds of boost that really makes the difference.

On the Nurburgring’s long straights, 200 horsepower only does so much. In reality, it’s the Tein Flex suspension, Toyo R888 tires, Carbotech XP12 pads up front and XP10s at the rear, and most importantly, driver ability that’s responsible for the pace.

A bushy beard, sticky tires, and delicate inputs see this Miata to enviable cornering speeds.

A nimble Miata on sticky tires can take corners quite quickly, but there’s no way that it can ever match the Porsche’s corner-exit acceleration, especially running just 225-section tires at the rear. Nonetheless, a hint of opposite lock here and there, and the the little Mazda is able to nip at the GT3’s haunches in certain corners – most impressively at 1:40.

The Miata, with a fraction of the downforce, managed to close the gap with the quicker machines on the circuit, and carry similar speeds through the faster sections. Were the two exotics driven to their limit? Certainly not, but that doesn’t change the fact that this Miata’s driver deserves praise for his considerable skill and the well-sorted chassis underneath him. The beard probably helped too.