A few years ago, safaris were at their most famous. A new sub-industry grew around the air-cooled Porsche 911 because lifting a sports car overnight became very popular. The factory now sells off-road versions of the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato and the Porsche 911 Dakar. Some vehicles, like this 1992 Mazda Eunos Roadster, were lifted and strengthened. It’s one of the most excellent cars ever. Simply put, an Eunos Roadster is a Miata sold in Japan. This makes the lifted car up for bid on Cars & Bids even more enjoyable. The first time it was sold was online in March 2023. It was brought in in 2022. It had a body kit that looked a lot like the Ferrari 250 GTO at the time. The inside was also different, but it had regular wheels and coilovers. The body package could have come with the car when it was imported, or the original seller could have put it on. Since there was a long time between import and sale, it’s more likely that the latter happened. Overfenders, fender-mounted mirrors, some off-road lights, and the Bride’s driver’s seat were swapped for the stock Miata passenger seat in just seven months. The car was lifted with a Paco Motorsports lift kit, the doors were removed, and the tires were changed to off-road tires from a company I had never heard of. A quick look at the records shows that the car was brought in from Nagoya on November 11, 2022, but it also has a label from the port of Kawasaki. It has a reverse-clamshell front clip, radiator ducting, and a unique (read: kludgy) frame rail strengthening. The seller must have spent months turning the Miata into an off-road vehicle. As a result, he has little time to enjoy his love project. The description says nothing about technical problems, and the car is in good shape. It still has the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, so bigger tires don’t need much extra power. They may have decided that they weren’t ready for the life of a lifted Miata. There are still a lot of steps to take before the deal is finalized. The bidding ends on October 12. It sold for $15,800 on its first try before it was lifted, so this is an accurate A-B measure for how much safari cars are worth. If this is the exact niche you’re looking for, make an offer.
