By Tim Harris · February 12, 2026

Let me begin with a statement that will offend at least 37% of car enthusiasts:

The Miata is the greatest sports car platform ever created.

Not the fastest.
Not the fanciest.
Not the most exclusive.

But the best.

Lightweight. Rear-wheel drive. Manual. Simple. Affordable. Fun at legal speeds. It’s the sports car equivalent of a cast iron skillet: it always works, and it gets better the more you use it.

But every Miata owner eventually has the same thought:

And that’s where a UK company called Rocketeer Ltd shows up like an evil genius with a torque curve and a clipboard.

Their idea is beautifully wrong:

✅ Take a Miata (NA or NB)
✅ Rip out the 4-cylinder
✅ Drop in a Jaguar AJ30 3.0L V6
✅ Keep it naturally aspirated
✅ Make it rev
✅ Make it sound like an expensive bad decision
✅ Keep the weight balance intact

Rocketeer calls it the MXV6.

I call it: proof that humanity is still capable of greatness.

A Rocketeer Miata isn’t just “a Miata with more power.”

A turbo Miata is fast… but still feels like a Miata that’s been caffeinated.

A Rocketeer build is different.

It’s the same Miata concept—light, tossable, alive—but with a completely different personality:

It’s like you took your favorite simple sports car and gave it the heart of something that belongs in a boutique British track toy.

Rocketeer offers a few paths depending on how deep you want to go into the “this started as a $7,500 car” lifestyle.

This is for the brave and the mechanically capable.

The Rocketeer self-build conversion kit + electronics pack starts around £9,995 (with DIY kit options starting lower). They also list rebuilt engines separately. Translation: you can go “kit only,” or get more complete packages depending on your goals.

This is the route where you get to say:

And also:

You bring (or buy) the donor, Rocketeer does the work. This is the “I like driving more than suffering” option.

This is where the car gets stripped, rebuilt, refinished, reimagined—like a mini Singer treatment, except instead of being $450,000 it’s (somewhat) closer to reality.

Rocketeer’s full restomod builds start around £75,000+ depending on spec (and then you start choosing options and your bank quietly begins to sweat).

Here’s the part Miata lovers really care about:

This swap hits that perfect sweet spot—enough power to feel insane, but not so much you turn the car into a traction-control lecture.

Common builds land around:

And Rocketeer also references staged power upgrades reaching higher numbers—including setups that can go 350+ hp (and in some builds even higher), depending on how deep you go into their development packages.

This is where the Rocketeer Miata becomes a totally different animal.

Not “faster Miata.”

More like:

Okay. Let’s do this honestly.

Because there are two types of people in this world:

Let’s model a real “DIY Rocketeer Restomod” build:

Here’s the range of what you’ll spend on parts and services for a proper build:

Rocketeer swap hardware + engine solution:

$18,000 – $26,000

Transmission/drivetrain/clutch/diff:

$4,500 – $15,000

Cooling + fuel + exhaust:

$3,100 – $8,800

Suspension/brakes/wheels/tires:

$5,800 – $17,800

Bare metal strip + quality paint:

$12,000 – $25,000
(Paint is where people lie to themselves. Don’t.)

Interior restoration/upgrades:

$2,850 – $10,200

Wiring cleanup/integration/gauges:

$1,000 – $5,400

“Restomod tax” (everything else you forgot):

$3,500 – $10,000

$7,500

✅ Parts/services subtotal: $52,750 – $118,200

If you’re paying a shop (or paying pro labor for chunks of the build), bare metal restomod + engine swap builds rack up hours fast.

A realistic labor range:

At $125/hr, that’s:

✅ Estimated total DIY Rocketeer restomod (with paid labor):

And if you’re asking what the “most likely” number is?

Congratulations.
You built a $150,000 Miata.

And honestly?

I respect you more for it.

This is where things get spicy.

Because if you’re spending close to six figures, you have options.

Faster, more modern, more tech.

But the Supra is “good car good.”

The Rocketeer is “I’m late because I took the long way again.”

One of the best chassis ever built.

But modern Porsche also comes with:

Rocketeer gives you 90% of the magic with 200% of the personality.

An absolute performance monster.

Also:

The C8 is a supercar bargain.

The Rocketeer is a driver’s addiction.

Probably the closest in spirit.

But also:

Rocketeer is the opposite:
simple, mechanical, visceral.

If you buy a Rocketeer Miata, you’re not buying it because it’s logical.

You’re buying it because you’re emotionally stable enough to know:

Life is short.
V6 noises are forever.

A Rocketeer build is for the enthusiast who wants:

✅ Miata steering + chassis feel
✅ Exotic sound without supercar nonsense
✅ NA throttle response
✅ A car no one else has
✅ A sports car that feels like a secret weapon

And the best part?

You get to say, with a totally straight face:

While it casually embarrasses cars that cost twice as much.

— Tim Harris

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