Mazda MX-5 ND

Mazda’s footprint in the Dream Car Garage catalogue is seven cars, and the MX-5 ND shows why a manufacturer’s place in a collection is not measured only by headline figures. Ranked 586th of 600 cars for power, with 184 bhp, and 576th for top speed, at 219 km/h, this is a car that sits near the opposite end of the performance scale from the catalogue’s fastest machinery. Its contribution is found in the discipline of its specification rather than a pursuit of maximum numbers.

The MX-5 ND is a 2015 Japanese sports car with a naturally aspirated 2.0 litre inline-4 producing 205 Nm of torque. That combination places it in a particularly defined corner of the catalogue. Only 83 of the 600 cars use an inline-4 layout, 30 pair an inline-4 with rear-wheel drive, and 22 are naturally aspirated inline-4 cars. The MX-5 ND belongs to that smaller group, while also offering the distinction of a two-seater convertible body style and rear-wheel drive.

Its performance position tells an interesting story. A 0-100 km/h time of 6.5 seconds places it 564th of 600, meaning it is faster than 36 cars in the catalogue, but acceleration is clearly not the defining measure of this entry. Instead, the MX-5 ND represents a different interpretation of a sports car, one where a naturally aspirated engine, a compact two-seat layout and rear-wheel drive form the central idea.

The price position reinforces that contrast. At a used price of £20,000, it ranks 573rd of 600, making it more expensive than 27 cars in the catalogue. Its cost per bhp is £109, a figure that highlights how its appeal is not built around chasing the highest output for the money.

For a collector looking across hundreds of possibilities, the MX-5 ND occupies a distinct role. It is one of 48 Japanese cars in the catalogue, and its presence adds a sports car built around a naturally aspirated inline-4 formula rather than a larger engine or higher performance target. The numbers leave room for personal judgement: some garages are shaped by the fastest cars available, while others are shaped by the character of the individual choices. The MX-5 ND asks where a simple, focused convertible belongs among a collection of very different machines.