I have the chance to buy a genuine mk1 BBR turbo. Mechanically the car seems spot on. The panels are in reasonable condition though the car has been vinyl wrapped and the sills have obviously been repaired. Hood is ok, 12 months test, also has a lightweight hardtop. Just wondering if anyone has any idea of the value of these things? I know they’re rare but are they worth factoring in a potential load of panel and underside restoration?

The BBR turbo (152 bhp) is rare but not a high performance mx5 in the grand scheme of things, if your looking for a fun mx5 with a bit of power I would look for an MX5 with a good chassis and put a turbo on it which isn’t difficult or expensive depending on how much power you want. 200bhp can be achieved for £1500-£2000 lots of people have done this cheaper buying second hand parts. The engines are cheap and usually very strong the weak point is the conrods which start to fail above 250bhp.

If you want an mx5 with about 150bhp look for a M2.5 1.8 with and LSD, some people say the 6 speed box doesn’t feel as nice as the 5 speed so it may not be worth spend the extra money.

I’ve been by told engine builders the mk1 1.6 gets the best results when adding a turbo, the 1.6 engine is a turbo engine from the 323 turbo it still has the oil and water out lets on the exhaust side of the engine.

Repairing a rotting mx5 could be more problematic than replacing a high mileage engine, I’ve seen lots of rusty mx5’s come up for sale because the rot is found to be a lot worse once chassis has started to be cut away.

Price wise I would look at the price of other MX5’s locally and use as a gauge and you’ll have to figure how much the BBR badge is worth to you, because it sounds a bit rotten I would be tempted to look at other MX5’s.

The only advantage of a BBR, is that its an insurance recognised model and is cheaper to insure than "adding" a turbo and declaring it as a mod. I have done this in the past but tbh it will qualify for classic car insurance now anyways so won't make a difference.

Everything said above is correct.

The BBR setup is quite nice though and the manifold and DP are a good combination. They're not really worth a premium in this day and age though