http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/mx-5-miata/2016/road-test1.html
The Miata's DNA is undeniably present in this latest reboot. Here in the U.S., we get a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that's good for 155 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. It gives up 12 hp to the previous Miata, but gains 8 lb-ft of torque. The rest of the world has to make do with a weaker 1.5-liter powerplant. In Edmunds' testing, the American-spec Miata reached 60 mph in 6.3 seconds. That's half a second quicker than its predecessor but it requires high engine speeds and some serious wheelspin to get a decent launch. It has solid midrange punch, but "the engine is done making power at 6,000 rpm," according to our test driver.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/2016-mazda-mx-5-the-miata-gets-back-on-track-1433524538
You wouldn’t think that would be a recipe for motor-sports glory, and yet: My friend Ezra Dyer (Yahoo Autos, Popular Mechanics) and I went to an autocross event last weekend sponsored by the local Porsche club. The course was laid out on a tar-crazed, broken parking lot—a synecdoche of America’s crumbling infrastructure?—and right in the middle was a speed bump cars had to cross twice. Porsche Boxsters and 914s had to slow to walking speed to get over this lump of asphalt. Me and my borrowed Miata, with practical ground clearance and nothing much by way of front aero, hit it full throttle in second gear, fairly leaping over it and landing with its white hinder up in the air, like a woodland creature.
Erza logged a time of 41.7 seconds in a fire-breathing, world-beating 650-hp Corvette Z06. The MX-5 gave up 495 hp to the ’Vette. Elapsed time? 41.7 seconds. So there is more nuance to the “Is it fast?” question that one might credit.
