SUMMERNATS has been ground zero for bitchin’ car unveilings for decades now, and while our MX-5 is no showpiece, we couldn’t think of a better place to reveal Scotty’s latest creation for the first time.

In the last episode of Carnage, the MX-5 hit the dyno at Maxx Performance after lots of hard work and perseverance, and ran some solid power numbers in blistering hot conditions.

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But before we could wheel the thing off the trailer with its new heart at Summernats, Scotty wanted to revamp the look of the little machine, with the help of Damien Cook of Bling Designs. After a quick brainstorming session, the decision was made to do this one for the kids, with our own take on a movie hero to create what is now dubbed Lightning McBarra.

The new look certainly did the trick, with punters and Carnage fans alike all stopping to gawk at the little beast. “It’s done really well; all the fans love the new look, and the Barra has been a big hit as well,” said Scotty.

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The massive 275 rear meats were given a holiday for most of Summernats in favour of some burnout rubber borrowed from Bubba Medlyn, which were put to use down Skid Row. The ‘little car that could’ also made some seriously impressive power in the MPW Dyno Cell, and got cheered on by adoring fans during the Saturday Supercruise.

All was going well until the MacGyver’d pulley system snapped on Sunday morning when Scotty was heading to the go-to-whoa, a wayward pulley punching a hole in the radiator and putting a premature end to the Summernats shenanigans.

As for what’s next for the MX-5, the plan is to get the car properly tech-inspected so it can hit the drag strip, and maybe an LPG-spec Barra will get slotted in so we can really crank it up. You can expect to see all of that and plenty of other mayhem in future episodes of Carnage.

And thanks to everyone who supported this crazy undertaking, including Street Machine Summernats, Ryobi, Valvoline, Hare & Forbes, Maxx Performance, Plazmaman, All Fast Torque Converters, Bling Designs and Bill from Everything Barra.