Remember when you were working your way up through Career Mode on Gran Turismo in a lowly car? You’d strip weight out of your Mazda MX-5, maybe upgrade the tyres, and then when every millisecond of performance had been wrung from its pixels, plump for the turbo kit and obliterate the other entry-level Sunday racers. That pesky Suzuki Wagon R was toast.

Welcome to the real-life version. Here we have MX-5 tuning specialists BBR’s latest effort: the Stage 1 turbo kit for the current ‘ND’ generation MX-5 2.0-litre. And we’ll not tease you any longer: it delivers 248hp, and will ping the dinky MX-5 to 100km/h in five seconds flat. And it still revs too: that maximum power figure is delivered at 7,150rpm.

The 0 to 100km/h sprint ends 2.3secs quicker than the standard 158hp MX-5, and there’s a similarly dramatic effect on the top speed. No longer will you run into the buffers at 215km/h. This is an autobahn-ready, 234hp per tonne MX-5, good for a limited 250km/h. Probably want the roof up for that, though.

Reading this Stateside? We’ve good news for you too. Flyin’ Miata, the ‘Murican outfit (in)famous for their V8 MX-5 conversions, will be the official US distributor of BBR’s Stage 1 kit, which includes the twin-scroll turbo itself, a new exhaust manifold and downpipe, a re-worked ECU and all-new intercooler set-up, plus fresh sensors, induction equipment and reinforced plumbing. 

Cautious about butchering your twee little roadster in the name of F-type-baiting? BBR says the conversions is fully reversible, has 12 or 36-month warranty packages, and doesn’t push your emissions or engine idle revs to MoT-failure territory.

Certainly, it’s a little less drastic than wedging a 518bhp V8 behind those cutesy headlights, and more satisfying than living vicariously through a PlayStation, but each to their own, don’t you think?