MX-5 Miata

Make
Mazda
Segment
Compact

The Mazda MX-5 Miata isn't only loved for the fact that it offers sports car thrills at an attainable price, but also because it's one of the most reliable cars you can buy. It's been decades since the first MX-5 was launched but Mazda has successfully managed to maintain the car's simplicity into the 21st century and not weigh it down with needless electronics or complex powertrains. As dependable as the little Mazda is, one would think that even the MX-5 wouldn't be able to survive a savage fire that left the model you see here a total mess. But Miata fan Jacob Snell has given this severely burned drop-top - a Mazdaspeed Miata - a second chance.

In a Facebook post shared with the Mazda Miata Club group, Snell says: "long story short this MSM was [the] victim of a house fire and I got to it before the scrappers did." The fire itself was anything but mild as the Miata's entire body was damaged. The hood had several holes burned right through it and the interior looks like it spent a fair amount of time in an enlarged oven, with a properly melted dashboard.

Using the amusing hashtag #crispyspeed to update followers on the progress of this salvaged Mazda, Snell said that all it took to get the Miata running again was to pull apart some melted wires.

To drive home the message that this Miata is very much still alive, he took the roadster for a few entertaining smokey burnouts - excuse the pun. Unsurprisingly, the car has captured plenty of attention wherever it goes as it simply beggars belief that it's still functional. Remarkably, Snell says that the windows and air conditioning still work, although you'll probably encounter an unpleasant whiff when using the latter. The heating and lights are also operational. In time for Christmas, he decided to decorate this battle-hardened Mazda with a few trimmings. Against all the odds, this Mazdaspeed's life is far from over.