Bauer turns your Miata into the Catfish, a customized ‘gentleman's racer'

Have an old Miata lying around or perhaps simply want an inexpensive track day car? The folks at Bauer Limited Production have you covered with a car they call the “Catfish,” which originally debuted at the 2012 SEMA show.

If you’re wondering why it’s called the Catfish, it’s because designer studied images of a catfish when designing the bodywork.

Based upon the underpinnings of a 1990-2005 Mazda Miata, the Catfish replaces the stock Miata skin with an ultra-lightweight body woven from S-glass complete with carbon reinforcements. Weighing in at a miniscule 1,550 pounds, the Catfish makes for a nimble and extremely distinctive racer, one Bauer calls a “gentleman’s racer.”

Though the builders at Bauer use a Miata as its starting point, the new engine bay is big enough to support a General Motors LS V8.

Once you’ve given Bauer a donor Miata and $13,900 for the base Catfish build, Bauer get to work installing dozens of new features, including, the new body, a new firewall, and an aero-dynamic flat underside. On the interior Bauer adds new laser-cut flooring, laser-cut aluminum panels, secondary floors, composite center tunnel, and a simple bolt-in dash.

Other parts included with the Catfish consist of a single roll hoop, DOT compliant headlight and taillight package, driver and passenger fly screen kit, and rear and side view mirrors - to name a few.

What are the performance figures of the Catfish? That’s completely up to the buyer, as the Catfish is completely customizable. Although $13,900 will get you the base, Bauer has built Catfish models anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000.