Performance Link Mazda MX-5 R300 review – an MX-5 with Honda VTEC power

Nothing much happens below 3000rpm. There’s a mild surge forwards and a hollow blare from the exhaust, but it’s all very manageable. Then at 3750rpm it sounds like something’s punched a hole in the intake. The blare hardens into a harsh, metallic snarl, the power builds and the rev needle sweeps around in a frenzy, shooting into the red paint and past the last number on the tacho, where it really shouldn’t be. Your surroundings tell you you’re in an MX-5, but no normal MX-5 feels this intense, frantic and just plain exciting.

That’s because this MX‑5 is a PL R300, built by Gloucester-based specialists Performance Link. As the hunger for revs might suggest, it’s been fitted with a VTEC Honda K-series motor as part of an in-house, drive-in conversion that the company offers to owners of NC-generation (Mk3) MX-5s, taking the platform to another level for fast road and track use. 

Modifying MX-5s is nothing new, of course – the market is rife with engine mods, forced-induction kits and suspension upgrades from the likes of BBR – but Performance Link claims to offer the first wholesale K-series conversion for right-hand-drive NC-generation cars in the UK, plus accompanying chassis upgrades as part of one package. 

The firm is run by Alex Bingham and his brother Tom, who started the business in 2018 having attracted interest with their own MX-5 track car project. ‘We’re not millionaires,’ says Alex. ‘We don’t have 911 or Ferrari money, so if we wanted to go fast, we had to build it ourselves. We chose the MX-5 because it’s an inexpensive but very high-performing platform. A few people liked the work we’d done on our car, and a few steps and a couple of years later it became a full-time thing.’ Track-focused modifications are the company’s bread and butter, with the PL R300 bringing all its top-line upgrades together. Think of it as a restomod of sorts, but without a silly six- or seven-figure price tag – the conversion starts from around £22k (excluding a donor car), but options and personalisation typically raise the price to the £25k range. 

The company can source and supply a tidy, structurally sound donor MX-5 for the build, or convert an owner’s existing car. The latter can involve restoring the shell at extra cost, if the customer wishes. ‘It’s a case-by-case basis,’ says Alex. ‘A lot of the time when people are spending this kind of money on the conversion package, spending a few thousand more to get the whole car looking brand new underneath isn’t necessarily a lot. But it doesn’t have to be done.’

13

The first thing most people want after a trackday in an MX-5 is more power, and the PL R300 delivers handsomely on that front. The engine is Honda’s K24 rather than the peakier, higher-revving K20, chosen for its tractability and abundant parts availability. As Alex puts it: ‘If you need a water pump, it’s the same as the one in your grandma’s CR‑V.’ Three states of tune are offered: 237bhp, the 296bhp unit we’re testing here, and a turbo version with around 500bhp. The turbo one, we imagine, would be quite lively. 

Every engine is stripped, inspected and refreshed before installation, with internal modifications (such as camshaft and valvetrain upgrades) tailored for each customer. Performance Link also supplies a host of ancillaries, a stainless steel racing manifold, and a new tubular steel subframe that saves 6kg. A motorsport-grade wiring harness is installed while a Haltech Nexus S2 ECU handles the engine management and brings with it a variable traction control system that ranges from a safe road setting to fully switched off. An aluminium intake manifold and cold-air intake also come as part of the conversion, as well as new fuel lines and a fuel rail from KPower – a popular K-series swap specialist in the US that has partnered with Performance Link to produce certain elements for the NC project. 

Sitting low on MeisterR coilovers with a set of 17-inch Enkei rims filling the arches, this NC looks much more serious and sinister than the regular car. Particularly with its folding hard-top stowed away, which reveals a roll bar poking above Sparco bucket seats, complete with six-point harnesses. Dropping into the cabin is a revelation. No longer is the steering wheel set close to your legs as in a standard NC – a suede Momo wheel extends out of the dash to meet you, and it feels like you’re sitting on the floorpan. In effect you are, because this PL R300 has fixed seats with no runners and a flat floor panel to position you as low as possible. The new floor has structural benefits too, which are evident as soon as you get rolling on a bumpy road. There’s noticeably less shimmy and shake than in a standard NC, aided too by the chassis-mounted roll bar.

13

Suspension geometry, engine tuning and the exhaust can all be tailored to suit either road or track and the individual owner’s requirements. The work is carried out in-house and this PL R300 is very definitely set up for circuit driving, with track-spec spring rates and a deafeningly loud rear silencer that hangs below the rear bumper. (Hopefully there are circuits where it doesn’t breach the noise limits…) The noise buzzes around the cabin and switches to an even louder, harsher note at the VTEC switchover at 3750rpm. The first time I reach it I wonder whether the exhaust has fallen off, and photographer Aston Parrott says it sounds like a jet wash that’s run out of water. Thankfully, alternative options for the exhaust and VTEC tuning can make things quieter for road driving, as can the option to spec a quieter oil pump with balance shafts instead of this car’s K20-derived unit.

Once you’re used to the ear-splitting decibels, the engine is a stunner. The crescendo of the power delivery is completely addictive, and it takes a while to tune into just how high it revs (committing past the 7200rpm red line on the dash and up to 8200rpm is slightly disconcerting). On cold, salt-covered roads with Kumho Ecsta tyres that have seen a few track miles, the top-end fury is enough to break traction and send the PL R300 snaking up the road in a straight line without much provocation. This keeps you on your toes, but also hints at the level of adjustability all that extra power gives you. 

With that said, it’s surprisingly mild-mannered at normal speeds, and despite a highly tuned engine and lightweight flywheel it doesn’t kangaroo along in traffic. The five-speed (or six-speed, depending on the model) gearbox is shared with the standard car, but cryogenically strengthened to withstand the much higher loads going through it. The shift is short, positive and quick across the gate as is typical of an MX-5. Steering efforts are easy too, since the PL R300 retains the NC’s hydraulic assistance. The rack has much more precision and clarity, though, presumably due to the extra strength in the chassis and this car’s polybushed suspension. 

13

This PL R300 rides firmly on its track-spec springs, but it’s not totally uncompromising. With the dampers softened off for the road you get some awkward bounce over tricky surfaces, but the ride isn’t overly harsh, which bodes well for what a road-biased set-up would be like. There’s still a degree of roll to lean into through corners, too, which helps build a picture of how much load is going through the tyres. 

In these conditions, that isn’t a lot before the PL R300 starts squirming and skating along the surface, but once you learn to trust it, you can lean into slides and balance it on the throttle all the way through a corner. Having 296bhp to play with helps, but the Kaaz 2.0-way limited-slip differential fitted to this car also plays a part. It energises the rear the moment you apply the power, so you can point the nose in, pick up the power as early as possible and almost corner with a straight wheel as the car neutralises. It’s a style that Caterham owners will be familiar with, and a huge thrill when you get it right. 

It’s refreshing to have so much space to play with on the road, too (although that applies equally to a £3k MX-5 as this £30k PL R300). The NC’s compact size gives you freedom to carry speed and explore that balance, although this car’s track-focused geometry set-up means it can hunt around in its lane on cambered, rutted roads, particularly under hard braking. The brakes themselves are (surprisingly) mostly standard, with track-biased Carbotech pads and braided lines being the only modifications. The grabby track pads mean blending them in smoothly takes practice, particularly while rev-matching, but the stopping power is excellent. You sense the tyres are the limiting factor, since it doesn’t take much effort to trigger the ABS. 

13

When you get over the initial thrill factor and home in on the details, you notice one or two rough edges, some of which are a side effect of this PL R300’s aggressive set-up, it must be said. In fast corners that require a smooth, gradual turn-in, the steering isn’t completely intuitive. The initial take-up is measured and precise, but the car seems to dig in and turn harder after that initial onset of lock, which makes it difficult to place it accurately. Tom reckons this is a result of the aggressive diff, and it makes you think a little harder on a fast, flowing road. So too the fact that the steering doesn’t weight up significantly as you lean on the car at higher speeds, which makes judging the available front-end grip a little tricky. The PL R300’s natural style is not to lean much on the front tyres at all and steer from the rear, but it’d be nice to have a better sense of connection when you aren’t pushing as hard as that. 

Still, this is a massively exciting MX-5, and you get the impression that a brilliant road car is a few set-up changes away. Part of the appeal is the fact that Performance Link can build whatever kind of NC you want, within reason. ‘We take a personalised approach to each car,’ says Tom. ‘You could have a K24-engined grand tourer if you want, running on suspension that’s much softer but with a lot of power.’ Alternatively, if you own an NC that’s already perfectly set up to your tastes, you can have a K24 installed for £15k. That’s a lot of cash to invest in an MX-5, but short of a second-hand Seven-style kit car, there isn’t much that gives as much of a thrill for the money.