What's the news?

The Jota Mazda MX-5 GT that was first unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year has finally come to market. After high demand for a more powerful version of the standard MX-5, Mazda gave the car to Jota with a simple brief to create a variant with more than 200hp, better handling, but at the same time not altering the MX-5's classic characteristics.

Exterior

From the outside you can tell this is a special edition, but Jota hasn't gone mad with an outlandish body kit. Instead you get a choice of three paint finishes, a carbon fibre diffuser at the back, a black roof and anthracite alloys as standard. For those who want more, there is a carbon fibre splitter available as well as a small boot spoiler.

Interior

The cabin of the MX-5 GT follows a similar pattern to the outside, as Jota has only replaced the standard MX-5 seats with leather-bound Recaro items. Being a special edition we would expect to see some of the bells and whistles found in the top-spec version of the standard car such as satellite navigation, cruise control and climate control.

Mechanicals

Under the bonnet of the MX-5 GT is the same 2.0-litre Sport Tech engine found in the Roadster Coupé; although this version has been uprated to produce 203hp. The newfound power has brought the 0-62mph time down to just 6.4 seconds, and it will keep on accelerating to a limited top speed of 140mph. However, being an MX-5, the handling is just as important as the speed; and as such has taken a full year for Jota to develop. Underneath you'll find Bilstein dampers as standard, with the option to upgrade the entire suspension system to a full Ohlins road and track kit. The additions to the bodywork are claimed to be aerodynamically efficient as well, and Jota says that these tweaks have turned the MX-5 GT into a "focused driver's car".

Anything else?

As you would expect, all these additions have bumped up the price slightly over a standard MX-5; and the Jota Mazda MX-5 GT comes with a sticker price of £29,995. While this does bring it up into Mercedes-Benz SLK territory, owners of the Jota MX-5 will belong to a very exclusive band of people, as it is only on sale at the Lodge Garage Mazda dealership in Aylesbury. Buyers can also be reassured that servicing intervals follow that of a standard MX-5, and the three-year warranty has been altered to cover all its modified components.

We drove a prototype version of the Mazda MX-5 GT last year. Click here to read that review.

James Giddings - 22 Oct 2013