It has been a while since we heard about Mazda's MX-5 Cup racer. It was revealed towards the end of 2014 and was more recently named the pace car at the Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway. Now there's more news about the turn-key racer with Mazda announcing its price. Getting your hands on this bad boy will cost you a cool $53,000. That may sound like a ton for an MX-5, but keep in mind that buying this little beast means you get to race in the Global MX-5 Cup series.

In addition to racing other MX-5s on the Mazda circuit, owners of the Miata Cup will also be eligible to run in both Sports Car Club of America and National Auto Sport Association events. Your $53,000 gets you a fully equipped race car featuring the requisite safety equipment (peep that roll cage!) in addition to race-spec wheels, tires and brakes. A grand total of 230 pounds has been chopped off thanks to the removal of the convertible top, the air conditioning and radio, bringing everything down to 2,100 pounds. All told $53,000 doesn't sound that high for a race car but if you were to use the MX-5 Cup strictly for private track days, well that's another story.