Circuit Club at Wakefield Park, Australia Day 2012.

Roadsterspotters will recognise this car from previous Circuit Club coverage.

Murakami Motor’s NC, preparing to campaign Japan’s near legandary Super Taikyu Group N racing series.

Ably supported by reknowned Roadster tuner Nogami Project (that’s their front bar, btw).

(Image source)

Famous for their Aston Martin Racing GT cars, Jota Sport in the UK turned their attention to the NC Roadster in 2010, and in 2011 they released the MX5-GT.

Pairing the weight down to an amazing (for an NC2) 850kg, power output of the 2 Litre LV-FE engine was also increased to 205kw, or 275bhp in the old money. This results in a power-to-weight ratio good enough to deliver a 0-100km/h sprint of just over 3 seconds.

Developed to contest the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship and the Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship. This should prove to be a good package for endurance - no extreme engine output keeps the car in a suitable class and should mean a reliable powerplant, while the light weight means less wear on consumables like tires and fuel.

The first results from the Silverstone round looked promising, with the car running 2nd in class, until contact with another car pushed drivers Mark Ticehurst and Owen Mildenhall back to 6th place.

For something more visceral, in car action in this video here.

Here’s a great capture of one of Jota’s NC’s in it’s previous livery at the 2010 BritCar 24Hr.

One thing is for certain - you won’t find this Roadster in showrooms.

Andrew Mckay and Alex Hailstone, on their way to a third place finish in the Showroom Category, Targa Tasmania, 2011.

World’s Most Popular Track Car?

Probably, and for good reason.