(Last) Weekly Roundup: You Can Find Me In The (Miata) Club Edition

It's not perfect. There's some paint burning on the nose and tail, a couple of dings around the gas filler cap, and for some reason it was delivered with three Club wheels and a Grand Touring wheel, all of which were in lamentable condition. The transmission synchros have all taken a bit of a vacation and first gear is a journey rather than a destination. Still. 2014-model-year NC Clubs are virtually impossible to find and with just 4,600 miles on the odometer this one would have fetched the better part of twenty-three grand had we bought it from a dealer or private party.

We named it "Ava", after Ava Gardner and in keeping with the same spirit that saw our MX-5 Cup race car named "Marilyn". Ava spent a total of seventeen half-hour sessions at Summit Point Main this past weekend. Total wear: half a set of Hawk brake pads and maybe one-third of the tread depth on its BFG MX-5 Cup takeoff tires. We also had a lugnut snap, requiring a quick replacement of the left front hub, but that was probably just a consequence of a hasty wheel change while the rotors were still hot. The Blackbird Fabworx rollbar was the envy of every Miata pilot who saw it; like the Anniversary Rolex Submariner, the heavily-braced and perfectly-powdercoated Blackbird product commands a bizarre amount of respect and adulation when you see it for real.

Last week was a busy one, and it gave me the rare opportunity to write an absolutely classic TTAC piece from the old school.

For R&T, I took you on a quick trip to Spa and discussed the possibilities of beastly luxury cars.

At TTAC, Brother Bark reviewed a rental V8 Chally. I discussed a tragic accident, gave away a child seat in a pair of articles, asked the readers about upscale pickups, and exposed a referral scheme masquerading as a news website.

This upcoming weekend, I'll be joining the team at Flyin' Miata for a unique attempt at a turbocharged endurance run around Laguna Seca. More details to come!