Mazda asked Jota Sport to borrow bits from the MX-5 GT4 race car to create this road-legal road-carver.  While the GT4 race car puts out a whopping 310 hp from its 2.0-liter engine, the road going GT Concept has to settle for 205 hp from the same capacity.  That doesn’t sound so bad considering it is still 38 more ponies than the most powerful MX-5 sold in the U.S.

The 23% jump in power is only the tip of the GT Concept iceberg.  The suspension has been upgraded for improved handling and can be adjusted for different track conditions.  A sport-tuned exhaust system was added (with the tailpipe relocated to the center for a little flair.)  Aerodynamics are improved by a carbon fiber front splitter, rear diffuser and tiny trunk spoiler.  The car is capped off with extra sticky 18-inch Falken FK 452 tires.

Inside there are Recaro sport seats, more carbon fiber bits, and body-colored roll hoops behind the seats.

The only part of this car that doesn’t seem race-ready is the retractable hard top.  It adds about 76 lbs to this svelte rocket.

Does this have you drooling for a Miata yet? Well then it is time to tell Mazda.

The company has said that the MX-5 GT Concept was built to test customer reaction.  But since Mazda made sure the car would be road-legal, we can stay hopeful that this one will hit production soon.  Of course there are still a few real hurdles.  For example, how much will all this street racing magnificence cost? Also Jota Sport is the U.K. arm of Mazda’s racing program.  So how likely are they going to switch the steering wheel to the other side?

The plan seems to be a solid one that will not just give Alfa Romeo a badge-engineered Miata.  Both companies say that they will design their own sheetmetal  to go over Mazda’s rear-wheel drive chassis.  They also say that each car will receive, “specific proprietary engines unique to each brand.”

Mazda will likely not deviate from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder unit (smaller I4s are also available on the international market) likely with some SkyActiv fuel-saving technology.  Alfa will likely borrow TwinAir units from the Fiat Group family, which are proving to be lively and frugal.  Even more importantly, the TwinAir engines are proving to be a somewhat reliable powerplant.

A matchup like this seems like an easy fit.  Fiat needs a partner for Alfa Romeo if it wants it to become profitable without simply handing the brand its own version of every Fiat that comes off the assembly line.  Mazda also has been a company in search of a partner.  Now that it is no longer under the Ford umbrella, it needs to spread its manufacturing costs if it want to remain competitive on the international market.

Still, the irony of this situation should not be lost.  The MX5 was inspired by the European roadsters from England and Italy.  When it debuted in 1989, the MX5 was the rebirth of the light, fun roadster, and it even added Japanese reliability.  Now that the car is approaching its silver anniversary, one of the most famed brands in roadsters is looking to Mazda for collaboration.

For those who are getting excited about a return of the Alfa Romeo Spider in the U.S., don’t break out The Graduate soundtrack just yet.  Production of Alfa’s car at  MX5′s home plant in Hiroshima, Japan isn’t scheduled until 2015, and there has been no word yet if it will come here at all.  Of course if Fiat is smart, they’ll know we’re drooling for a roadster with Italian style and Japanese build quality on our shores.