Grassroots Motorsports
Issue link: http://grassrootsmotorsports.epubxp.com/i/397024
Grassroots Motorsports 47 W hen Grassroots Motorsports came on the scene 30 years ago–back when it was called Auto-X magazine–the sports car world was facing sorry times. Famed brands like MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey had long left our shores, while Alfa Romeo's Spider was still a carryover from decades ear- lier. The once-mighty Corvette was all new, yet rather bloated. Even the Porsche 911 faced an uncertain future. Then came the Mazda Miata. This little roadster revived the fat-lining sports car market, and it was the real deal, too: rear-drive chassis, willing engine, fve-speed gearbox, amazing looks and a fold-down top. It didn't cost a mint, either. Twenty-fve years after its release, the Miata is still a cornerstone of our scene. Here's what we've learned about the Miata over its lifetime: This thing is anvil-tough and can happily deliver decades of service–and that service can vary wildly. You can race one to a national championship or simply use it to fetch your Sunday coffee. If they haven't already, people will soon begin to restore those earlier examples. The Miata is our generation's MGB. Norman Garrett knows the original Miata inside and out. He served as that project's design engineer–the guy responsible for placement of all the parts that make it go, stop and turn. A lifetime of sports car ownership, plus that handy engineering degree, helped Norman turn sports car theory into sports car fact. And, yes, he still owns an original Miata.–David S. Wallens 1. Road Course Skills We know the Miata ushered in today's golden age of sports cars. But what exactly is a sports car? That simple question is a surefre way to start a lively discussion among enthusiasts. Passions will fair, expletives will be traded, and friendships may be taxed as opinions come to bear on this touchy issue. The term itself implies that these cars will participate in some sort of sport. Since sports generally include a com- petitive element, a sports car could be defned as a vehicle suitable for some type of competition. No arguments so far. At this point, muscle car owners are feeling like part of the club. Drag racing is competition, right? Not so fast. Here's our frst stumbling block: Subjectively, competition as it relates to sports cars should include left- and right- hand turns, with a few straights thrown in to let the brakes cool down. Europeans invented the term in the context of Grand Prix racing on grand circuits–road racing, in other words. Sports cars were automobiles that could compete against one another, at some level, on road courses similar to those used by the ultimate racing cars of the day all over post-WWI Europe. An enthusiast market was born, and cars began to emerge that were lighter, faster, sometimes quite basic, and available to the everyman. Then, after WWII ended, American soldiers return- ing from the war brought with them an appreciation for the sports cars they'd seen in Europe. The bug soon caught on in America. All of this was before some Detroit ad men had a three-martini lunch and claimed the original Thunderbird as a "sports car." Dilution of the concept began on our shores, let it be said. So, a sports car began as a type of car somehow suitable for road racing– with or without modifcation–in stock form. This defnition works well for the 1949 MG TC which, compared to the heavy sedans of the day, was a relatively athletic vehicle that out-cornered almost everything else on the road. It also works well for a 2015 Porsche 911, which can, in stock form, run hot laps all day on any race track in the world with- out turning itself into a molten pile of expensive rubber and steel. COVER STORY: ENGINEERING A SPORTS CAR