Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rocketeer Cars was born out of one man’s project to improve his own Mazda MX-5 NA by putting a V6 in it. After a bit of discussion with friends and work colleagues, he settled on the Jaguar AJ30, which is an engine that started life as a Porsche design, was then bought by Ford, finished by Cosworth and ended up in all sorts of vehicles… one of which is the car that Henry Catchpole is driving in this episode.
It’s a brilliant engine and suits the MX-5 perfectly because it is light. In fact it is marginally lighter than the four-cylinder engine that Mazda originally fitted in the Hiroshima factory. This means that the V6 adds more power and torque but doesn’t affect the Miata’s fabulous weight balance. How much power depends on how you spec the car, but it ranges from around 280bhp up to about 375bhp. Thankfully, because it is a fundamentally better balanced engine than the in-line four, the Rocketeer Miata has retained the MX-5’s fabulous gearbox, so that lovely shift remains.
The big question with any restomod is ‘how much does it cost?’ and the refreshing answer with the Rocketeer is that it doesn’t have to cost that much at all. If you want to buy a kit and do it yourself, then you can get change from £10,000. If you want Rocketeer cars to do the swap on your car then you’re looking at about £20,000 all in. If you want the full, back to bare metal, re-trimmed restomod experience, then it will cost you quite a bit more - but even at around £70k, it’s a fraction of the cost of other restomods.
You could, of course, look at other readymade manual, six-cylinder sports cars on the second hand market. But while something like a Porsche Boxtser, or BMW M Roadster or Nissan 350Z would certainly be very appealing, none of them is as small or light as the MX-5. It really is something of a sweet spot.
We hope you enjoy this latest episode of The Driver’s Seat. If you would like to show your support for the film or just the channel in general, then a like, a subscribe a share or comment is very much appreciated and really does help us to keep providing the content.
Presented in collaboration with Mobil 1.
#henrycatchpole #thedriversseat #neverstopdriving
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If you love cars, you belong with us. Hagerty Drivers Club is the world’s largest community for automotive enthusiasts. Members enjoy valuable automotive discounts, exclusive events and experiences, roadside service created specifically for collector vehicles, and a subscription to the bimonthly Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join Hagerty Drivers Club here: hagerty.com/drivers-club
Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
Redline Rebuilds | Time-lapse engine rebuilds from start to finish bit.ly/RedlineRebuild
Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter
Jason Cammisa on the Icons | The definitive car review
bit.ly/JasonCammisaICONS
Revelations | Untold Stories About Automotive Legends with Jason Cammisa
bit.ly/JasonCammisaRevelations
The Driver's Seat with Henry Catchpole
bit.ly/HenryCatchpole
Contact us:
Suggestions and feedback - videoquestions@hagerty.com
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Rocketeer Cars was born out of one man’s project to improve his own Mazda MX-5 NA by putting a V6 in it. After a bit of discussion with friends and work colleagues, he settled on the Jaguar AJ30, which is an engine that started life as a Porsche design, was then bought by Ford, finished by Cosworth and ended up in all sorts of vehicles… one of which is the car that Henry Catchpole is driving in this episode.
It’s a brilliant engine and suits the MX-5 perfectly because it is light. In fact it is marginally lighter than the four-cylinder engine that Mazda originally fitted in the Hiroshima factory. This means that the V6 adds more power and torque but doesn’t affect the Miata’s fabulous weight balance. How much power depends on how you spec the car, but it ranges from around 280bhp up to about 375bhp. Thankfully, because it is a fundamentally better balanced engine than the in-line four, the Rocketeer Miata has retained the MX-5’s fabulous gearbox, so that lovely shift remains.
The big question with any restomod is ‘how much does it cost?’ and the refreshing answer with the Rocketeer is that it doesn’t have to cost that much at all. If you want to buy a kit and do it yourself, then you can get change from £10,000. If you want Rocketeer cars to do the swap on your car then you’re looking at about £20,000 all in. If you want the full, back to bare metal, re-trimmed restomod experience, then it will cost you quite a bit more - but even at around £70k, it’s a fraction of the cost of other restomods.
You could, of course, look at other readymade manual, six-cylinder sports cars on the second hand market. But while something like a Porsche Boxtser, or BMW M Roadster or Nissan 350Z would certainly be very appealing, none of them is as small or light as the MX-5. It really is something of a sweet spot.
We hope you enjoy this latest episode of The Driver’s Seat. If you would like to show your support for the film or just the channel in general, then a like, a subscribe a share or comment is very much appreciated and really does help us to keep providing the content.
Presented in collaboration with Mobil 1.
#henrycatchpole #thedriversseat #neverstopdriving
Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications! bit.ly/HagertyYouTube
Visit our website for an insurance quote, to join Hagerty Drivers Club, and for daily automotive news, cars stories, reviews, and opinion: hagerty.com
Stay up to date by signing up for our email newsletters here: hagerty.com/media/newsletter
Follow us on social media:
Facebook | facebook.com/Hagerty
Instagram | instagram.com/Hagerty
Twitter | twitter.com/Hagerty
If you love cars, you belong with us. Hagerty Drivers Club is the world’s largest community for automotive enthusiasts. Members enjoy valuable automotive discounts, exclusive events and experiences, roadside service created specifically for collector vehicles, and a subscription to the bimonthly Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join Hagerty Drivers Club here: hagerty.com/drivers-club
Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
Redline Rebuilds | Time-lapse engine rebuilds from start to finish bit.ly/RedlineRebuild
Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars bit.ly/BarnFIndHunter
Jason Cammisa on the Icons | The definitive car review
bit.ly/JasonCammisaICONS
Revelations | Untold Stories About Automotive Legends with Jason Cammisa
bit.ly/JasonCammisaRevelations
The Driver's Seat with Henry Catchpole
bit.ly/HenryCatchpole
Contact us:
Suggestions and feedback - videoquestions@hagerty.com
Press inquiries - press@hagerty.com
Partnership requests - partnerships@hagerty.com
