The Miata Mono-posto was created for the 2000 SEMA show in Las Vegas. This concept car takes inspiration from the classic Jaguar and Lotus endurance racers of the 1950s. The design represents an extreme expression of Mazda's Jinba Ittai ideology with name coming from a lightweight single-seat racer.
The Mono-posto builds on the earlier M Speedster concept car which also did away with the roof and feaured a chopped down windscreen. It is the first concept based on the second generation Miata, and uses an almost completely unique bodywork design.
The front end uses the standard headlights, with added driving lights mounted in the grille mouth. The front bumper is a unique one-piece clamshell design with a more angular grille shape. A new design bonnet has a central air scoop with sweeping lines that run over the top of the body. With the windscreen completely removed, the cabin is finished by a unique deck cover with a cockpit opening for the driver.
The deck cover forms a rollbar behind the driver's seat with a tiny curved windscreen the only protection from the elements. The single mirror is mounted centrally giving a good view of behind. Like the front, the rear bumper is a single blended piece with the rear wings. The bootlid and tail lights are among the only original pieces carried over the front the standard car. The rear bumper has a smart silver trim piece that fits snugly around the centre exit exhaust from HKS.
The Mono-posto was a collaboration with HKS and features many of their aftermarket tuning parts. An HKS intake and intercooled turbo conversion is fitted giving the car a boost to 190Bhp and 243lb-ft torque. The huge 18" alloy wheels are a three-piece design from Racing Hart, 8" wide for the front and 9.5" wide at the rear. They fill out the bodywork's widened wheel arches nicely.
Behind the wheels sit Baer Racing 4-pot calipers and cross drilled discs and an HKS suspension setup. The stripped down interior features a single blue Sparco bucket seat, MOMO steering wheel, silver quilted trim, and a range of Autometer gauges.
Mazda would go on to revisit this style of car with the MX-5 Superlight and the MX-5 Speedster.