At just $53,000, the Mazda MX-5 Cup is one heck of a bargain, and one of the cheapest race cars you can get your hands on. And while Mazda is increasing the price, it’s giving its customers more in return.

Starting next week, the Japanese automaker will charge $58,900 for an MX-5 Cup racer, representing an 11.1-percent increase over the existing sticker. But for the extra cash, buyers will enjoy a number of improvements.

Those include competition-spec gearbox and engine mounts, new differential bushing inserts, and a remapped ECU, as well as an optional fuel pump-out kit. All told, there are some 250 Cup-specific parts fitted post-assembly in Hiroshima, Japan, by Long Road Racing in Statesville, North Carolina.

To date Mazda and its motorsports partner Long Road Racing have delivered 108 examples of the latest racing Miata. As a special thanks for their loyalty, if any of those existing customers want to pick up another one, they’ll be afforded the previous price until September 16.

The competition roadster forms the basis for the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup (sponsored by Battery Tender and BFGoodrich Tires), one of the key series in the Mazda Road to 24 program that (like the Mazda Road to Indy program) offers aspiring racing drivers a ladder on which to begin their climb to top-tier sports car racing.

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