We’ve seen so many wild engine swaps showed at SEMA that it takes a lot to surprise us, but a first generation Miata equipped with a twin-turbo Lamborghini V10, it will certainly do the job. Or it would have been if it were true, because a closer look reveals that the Lamborghini consumption of this version is very misleading.

Even at the SEMA showWhere standout builds are the norm, the little Miata turns heads. It’s finished in a distinctive shade of blue, it’s equipped with turbos where you’d expect to find pop-up headlights, and there’s a Lamborghini-branded intake system that looks like it came from a Huracan through the hood. It’s all over social media; Hot Parts USA, the workshop that built it and transported it to Las Vegas, describes it like a “1992 twin-turbo Miata Lamborghini”.

It’s a Chevy truck engine with a Lamborghini intake placed on it. Not a Lamborghini engine. pic.twitter.com/o4DKIdSoMI

– Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) November 7, 2024

Bozi Tatarevic, an auto mechanic and journalist with a passion for BS, disagrees. He also has the evidence to prove it. Post onhe broke down the “powered by Lamborghini” claim and explained that we’re instead looking at a 5.3-liter V8 or a 6.6-liter V8 from a General Motors pickup or SUV. This is the same engine that powered the Tahoe and Silverado, among other models. The water pump is meant to be a gift, and Tatarevic points out that the builders used a custom adapter box to install a 10-cylinder intake system on an eight-cylinder engine.

Stuff a V8 into an old Miata it’s coolbut it’s not that original. Flyin’ Miata even offered swap kits until emissions regulations I forced him to stop.

Even the people who manage the SEMA show Facebook account were fooled. However, several other show visitors noted that we weren’t dealing with a Huracán engine and the comments weren’t exactly kind. “It’s an old small block Chevy and (it) doesn’t run,” one user wrote on Instagram. “Sick until you realize it’s an LS and it doesn’t work,” said another. Interestingly, a Portuguese language Instagram account presented built like a Corvette V8-powered Miata equipped with a Lamborghini intake system. Hot Parts USA did not respond to any of these comments.

We’ll reserve judgment on whether the company is intentionally trying to mislead SEMA spectators with its Lamborghini-branded NA, or whether it’s just aiming to provide some good old-fashioned trolling. What is certain is that there is no original Lamborghini V10 between the fenders.

So, who will be the first to build a real Lamborghini-powered Miata? Send us photos if you do.

Do you have any advice? Send them to [email protected]