Mazda MX-5 NC

The Mazda MX-5 NC creates an unusual contradiction in the Dream Car Garage catalogue: it ranks 592nd of 600 cars for power, yet its character comes from a combination that appears in only 18 cars in the collection, a naturally aspirated inline-4 with rear-wheel drive. The numbers reveal a car that was never defined by chasing the highest outputs, but by a different balance of ingredients.

Its 160 bhp places it near the bottom of the full catalogue, and its 0-100 km/h time of 7.9 seconds ranks 591st of 600, faster than only 9 cars in the database. The top speed of 210 km/h also sits at 581st of 600. Those figures make the MX-5 NC an outlier in a garage filled with cars where performance statistics often dominate the conversation. Its distinction comes from how unusual its formula is within that wider group. Only 30 of the 600 cars pair an inline-4 engine layout with RWD, and only 22 combine that layout with natural aspiration.

The specification supports that approach. The MX-5 NC uses a 2.0-litre inline-4 with 188 Nm of torque, sending power to the rear wheels in a 2 seater convertible/cabriolet body style. The result is a sports car whose place in the catalogue is not built around headline figures, but around a specific mechanical arrangement that remains uncommon among the 600 cars available to collect.

That difference also shapes its value position. At a used price of £8,000, it ranks 594th of 600 cars for price, meaning it sits close to the lower end of the catalogue despite its sports car category and rear-wheel-drive layout. Its cost per bhp is £50, a figure that highlights how much of the MX-5 NC proposition lies outside a simple power calculation.

With 48 cars from Japan in the catalogue and seven Mazda models represented, the MX-5 NC occupies a focused corner of the collection. It is a reminder that a dream garage is not only a display of maximum numbers, but also a place for distinct choices. Without this car, a collection can lean heavily towards outright performance measurements. With it, the garage gains a rear-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated convertible sports car that occupies a space defined by its particular balance rather than its position at the top of a chart.