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Just a random iPhone snapshot of my car on a nice spring day. As much grief and aggravation my car brings me some days it still has the ability to make me turn around, admire it and smile with pleasant satisfaction. I will never sell this car.

In keeping with the Italia theme of this blog as of late, today I present to you an interesting Italia project being built by a fellow named Rossi (aka "Fell at the last") documented over at the MX5Nutz forum. This car has received 2.5L KLZE V6 swap from a donor Mazda MX-6 that was imported to the UK from Japan. The motor has benefited from the fitting of individual throttle bodies from a pair of Triumph Daytona 955i motorcycles! I was trying hard to wait until this project was completed to share it with you but I couldn't wait any longer! It's just too cool! It's like a backyard M2-1006 but better!

Club Miata NW recently visited the workshops of Simpson Design. You can see that the owner, Jim Simpson, is a passionate automobile enthusiast who loves more than just the Mazda Miata. Check it out!

A few years ago Simpson Design stopped making the original Italia body kit for the NA Mazda Miata/MX-5/Roadster. Many enthusiasts in the United States were disheartened when Jim stopped producing the Italia. Not that many kits were manufactured and sold over the years so it was always a rare item. Despite the rarity, there always seemed to be a group of fans who desired to have one.

Perhaps there was some people saving up their hard earned money for the day when they could afford to buy the kit for themselves who simply waited too long and would be left out. There was debate amongst fans whether the lower cost of used Miatas would make kits like the Italia more popular (since the low price of the car would allow more cash available for aftermarket modifications) or if the new generation of Miata owners are simply too cheap to spend the time and money necessary to install such an extensive and costly kit.

Also, it was another sign of the diminishing aftermarket parts availability for the aging NA platform. I'm sure you've noticed there are fewer and fewer boutique parts available these days compared to its heyday in the mid-1990s when the Miata was hugely popular and HyperRev #1 cataloged the many parts available to enthusiasts. Today, many of us feel pressure to buy cool parts while they're available since tomorrow they may be gone forever.

Not long ago a company called Retrofroza located in the United Kingdom began offering the original style Italia kit but from what I've read they are not authorized by Jim Simpso and they have simply copied his items without due respect (as so often happens with fiberglass parts). On top of that, some folks have complained about poor communication and lengthy delays in getting parts from this UK supplier. Additionally, international shipping charges make the already expensive kit cost prohibitive for most people. I'm sure many of you reading this will understand this problem and it helps explain why there are so few Italias in Japan.

Never fear because Simpson Design has not abandoned the Italia. Instead, they have redesigned and retooled to bring you the Italia Classic NA 2.0. One of the major changes is the new tilt nose, similar to the one on the Italia 2. That change does a couple of good things: it allows for greater access to the engine compartment and it will save 1-2 days of work for anyone building the kit.