There’s a Tremec T56 six-speed manual bolted behind the LS3. The big, milled-aluminum shift knob clicks through the pattern with the paced deliberation of a Southern judge, and the clutch pedal is barn-door stiff. The gearbox feels like it was plucked from the Trans-Am glory days. I don’t spend my time kicking in stables, so my first act behind the wheel is to stall the car. Twice.
With the heroics out of the way and a clear stretch of road ahead, I plant the throttle. There are 19 years of chassis development between a 1990 NA-chassis Miata and this 2009 NC, and you can feel every second of that time when you start clicking through gears. Unlike first- and second-gen cars with V8 swaps, this NC feels like it grew in the womb with this much power. It doesn’t ripple beneath you. It’s solid, even as the speedometer needle swings past 120 mph.