A Mazda MX-5 On Steroids: Australia’s V8 Engined Bullet Roadster

In the late ‘90s, Australian John Bettini unleashed onto the word the Bullet Roadster. What begin life as a heavily modified Mazda MX-5 with an RX-7 13B powerplant gradually evolved into a V8-engined monster like the one you see here that we found for sale in Queensland, Australia.

According to the seller, this was the fifth Bullet Roadster built and the first V8-engined one to roll out of the company’s then new Chinderah, NSW factory. It’s all hearsay, of course, but I’m willing to believe the words of a 62yo motoring enthusiast with arthritic knees. So here goes...

Bullet No. 5 was a special order from a man named George Covacic who supplied a 4.6-liter all-alloy, fuel injected V8 crate motor along with a Tremac 5-speed manual transmission and the differential from a Holden Commodore SS. Like all Bullet supercars, the brakes and suspension came from the Mazda RX-7.

Standard equipment extended to 17-inch alloys, air conditioning, power window and an Alpine CD stereo sound system – flash for a car built in the late ‘90s. All cars also got leather and a Momo steering wheel, shift knob and drilled pedals.

This particular example, which has done a paltry 16,107 km (10,008 miles), is finished in “Grace Green” with a black leather interior.

It’s fully registered and roadworthy, and at “just” AU$44,000 (US$46,191) is more than half the price it was when it was new (AU$98,000 / US$102,880). Check out the seller’s gallery of the V8-powered Miata below.

By Tristan Hankins

PHOTO GALLERY

Yes Please: Porsche 911 with GM LS1 V8 Power [Videos]

By taking a kitbashed GM-sourced LS1 V8 engine and slotting it into an AWD Porsche 996, LS1tech forum member “1dirtyZ” has set out to create something truly unique. Sure, it’s unconventional and perhaps a little sacrilegious...but just look at the Porsche donor car. It’s a wreck, the victim of a catastrophic engine fire. It has a ruined interior and a body that’s been damaged both by fire and rust. It would have spent the rest its days rotting away in a car wreckers yard if 1dirtyZ had not rescued it.
And even though this confabulation of All-American grunt and German precision engineering is not yet finished (it doesn’t have a rear bumper, for one), it certainly runs and can even be driven around a dirt race track. You can check out our gallery of in-progress images below and a handful of videos showing the V8-powered Porsche 911 running.
All it needs now is a name. Wheels dubbed the R35 Nissan GT-R Godzilla so should we maybe call this science-project-gone-wrong “Cloverfield”? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

PHOTO GALLERY

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