Happy Friday! This weekend is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which means many of us are in for a sleepless Saturday night. If you’re interested in tuning in, you can find all the details you need here.

The weather’s finally playing nice, so hopefully your summer tires are already on. If you want our unsponsored tip, the ExtremeContact Sport 02 is a daily tire you can have some fun with. Oh, and don’t forget, F1 hits Montreal this weekend too!

We’re hoping you’ve got your Le Mans/F1 split screen all set up because why choose when you can watch both?

Peugeot Has a new hot hatch: Today at the Le Mans circuit, Peugeot revealed its new E-208 GTi. It’s red, fast, and electric. The electric hot hatch market is a new one and this could be the beginning of some interesting competition. We haven’t sat inside but it feels like a Forza Garage, maybe it’s just the press photos but that is far from a bad thing.

Ford’s New Street Truck: With a V-8 and 400HP, the new Ford Lobo is lowww (and we love it). If you are looking for a daily truck on the streets, it will be available this Fall.

Tesla updated the Model S & X: The upgrades include a new paint colour, improved noise cancellation, updated suspension tuning, and slightly more range for the Model S. Do you think it is worth the $5,000 jump?

The origin of the NA Miata begins with Bob Hall, an American automotive journalist who spent much of his youth in Japan and became fluent in Japanese. Growing up, his father owned British sports cars from the 1940s to the 1970s, including MGs, Triumphs, and Austin-Healeys. These cars inspired Hall’s passion for lightweight, affordable roadsters.

In 1979, while visiting Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, Hall shared a rough idea for a simple, affordable, rear-wheel-drive sports car based on existing Mazda components. He sketched the concept for R&D chief Kenichi Yamamoto, though it did not result in any action.

By 1981, Hall joined Mazda’s U.S. product planning team and revived the roadster concept. In 1982, during a surprise visit to the U.S. office, Yamamoto asked Hall why Hall was working on a pickup truck and encouraged him to focus on the lightweight sports car instead. Hall then wrote an 18-page concept document outlining the car’s essential qualities: compact, light, reliable, and easy to drive. He also created a "Non-cept" list of features to avoid, such as being overly powerful, expensive, or complex.

Hall’s manager and Yamamoto agreed Hall could split his time between the B Series pickup and the sports car project, allowing him flexible hours to work on the Miata.

By late 1983, Mazda’s R&D teams in Tokyo and the U.S. developed competing designs: Tokyo’s studio created front-wheel-drive and mid-engine coupe concepts, while the U.S. team designed a lightweight, rear-wheel-drive convertible. After two rounds of judging in Hiroshima in 1984, the U.S. design was selected. A prototype was built in the United Kingdom in 1985.

In 1986, program manager Hoshihiko Hirai was assigned to prepare the car for production. The Miata debuted in 1989, with the core values that Bob Hall originally envisioned.

Weight: 2,116 lbs, 960 kg
Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive
Engine: 1.6L I4 (1989–1993), 1.8L I4 (1994–1997)
Power: 116 hp & 100 lb-ft (1.6L) | 128 hp & 110 lb-ft (1.8L)
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 4-speed automatic (optional)
0–60 mph: ~8.6 sec (1.6L), ~8.0 sec (1.8L)
Top Speed: 116–123 mph, 187–198 km/h

2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage: The name’s Bond… James Bond. While this exact model wasn’t featured in the films, this manual transmission V8 Vantage could bring you quite close to feeling like 007.

Restored 1972 Datsun 240Z: Lime Yellow and a wood-rimmed steering wheel? Yes, yes, and yes.

1976 Ford Bronco: If you’re looking to spice up the garage, this 1976 Ford Bronco might be screaming your name. Just don’t put an aftermarket weighted shift knob on it - that feels like a crime against vintage trucks…

Formula One
Pirelli Grand Prix du Canada 
📍 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada
🗓️ June 13th-15th

FIA World Endurance Championship
Le Mans 
📍 Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France
🗓️ June 14th-15th

TCR World Tour
Circuit Ricardo Tormo
📍 Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain
🗓️ June 13th-15th

Copa Truck
Tarumã 
📍 Autódromo Internacional de Tarumã, Viamão, Brazil
🗓️ June 15th

You made it to the end! We’re stoked to have you on this journey. Buckle up, because we’ll be hitting your inbox every Tuesday and Friday.

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Keep your tires round,
Auto x Rewind Team