When Miska Kähkonen isn’t working as a young electrician in Espoo, Finland, you can probably find her in her garage or having fun on two or four wheels. Miska is interested in motorcycles from street to motocross, and she recently started riding on the land in a Jeep and a Cherokee XJ. But the real star of his garage is his 1991 Mazda MX-5.
Miska bought an MX-5 in 2013 with the intention of driving it every day. But surprise, surprise, everything changed during Miska’s first winter of ownership when he decided it would make a great project car.
The first version of this project debuted at a local car show in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2019 that this little Mazda began to resemble the machine we see today. A trip to Poland for the Next Level Drift event was the catalyst for Poland’s transformation.
When Miska returned to Finland, he spent some time ordering a complete Duce body kit from Firefly Speed Shop in the UK and everything he needed to set up his MX-5 for drifting.
A lot had happened in Miska’s life, but it took a few years for the Mazda to hit the road again, but when it did, it was a different car. This is largely thanks to his DIY turbo conversion centered around a Garrett T3 (salvaged from a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth) fitted to an original Mazda 1.6L engine that is stocked in-house. This setup is said to be good for around 230 horsepower and 300 Nm, which is plenty for his lightweight MX-5.
We all know how much fun Daigo Saito has in his Roadster, but they don’t. Any Meaningful engine upgrades.
The Miska still shifts through Mazda’s original five-speed gearbox, but the differential is locked.
What helps dramatically with drifting is the suspension setup, with Miska using BC Racing BR coilovers, plus Destroy or Die front knuckles, lower control arms, and steering spacers. The wheels are 16-inch riverside tri-spoke made in Japan.
The interior features a full roll cage, Recaro SPG race seats, carbon door panels, and some quirky additions: a 15-year-old pink iPod Nano filled with all the best bangers of the early 2000s.
Miska describes the MX-5 as having a poor ride on the road. “interesting” Nevertheless.
The Mazda was his first project car, one he built himself, but it won’t be his last. Currently, Miska is working on his C5 Corvette, which he inherited from his father. With the MX-5 relegated to track and road use, Chevrolet is replacing it on the showfront with air suspension and larger wheels at the top of the list.
My dream is to build Finland’s best modified C5, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Miska comes up with. But in the meantime, there’s plenty of fun to be had with his little roadster.
Vladimir Ryadov
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