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The Dowsetts Tipo 184 is a road-legal, reliable, affordable pre-war racecar with the guts of a Mazda Miata NB

Mazda Miatas are a dime-a-dozen at any local car meet. But here’s one that will definitely get more attention than any modded, stanced, slammed or engine-swapped Miata. Perhaps even more than high-dollar supercars too. Just for the sheer uniqueness of it. After all, how many people are rocking an F1 racecar to local car meets?

And that’s exactly what you get with the Dowsetts Tipo 184. The kit is modelled after the Alfa Romeo 158/159 racecar, but with the guts of the Mazda Miata NB underneath. The UK-based company gives you the option of buying parts for the kit to be assembled piece by piece, or the full kit outright for about $24,600, which you can then put together yourself. Or you can buy the entire Tipo 184 assembled by Dowsetts themselves for about $61,000. Considering pre-war racecars can go for anything between $75,000 to $1,75,000, and will be slower, more prone to breakdowns, and not as fun to drive, it’s a relative bargain.

If you’re shopping for a fun, unique project with loads of character, read on.

The Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta, or Little Alfa in Italian, was the manufacturer’s first stab at a racing car for the inaugural Formula season in 1950. Well, actually the 158 was. The Alfetta line had been around for over a decade before that, having been developed to 'voiturette' rules which limited displacement. The 158 gets its name from its 1.5-liter, straight 8-cylinder supercharged engine. Don’t be fooled by its capacity, it still packed over 340 hp. It was absolutely dominant in F1, winning every race that season and clinching the first ever F1 championship title. It’s for that very reason it’s considered Alfa Romeo’s absolute pinnacle in motorsport.

Currently, it’s thought that only a handful remain. To be exact, two 158s and three later model 159s. Prices are stratospheric. That led to British TV-presenter Ant Anstead choosing to make an homage to one for the show Master Mechanic on the Discovery Motor Trend network in 2019. That car used an Alfa Romeo engine built to motorsport specifications to power it. Being one-of-one, and a painstakingly executed exact replica, it sold for $100,000!

Related: Evolution Of The Mazda MX-5 Miata

Seeing how the build sparked interest in the Alfa 158, Dowsetts Classic Cars in the UK took the same formula but aimed to better it in a few key areas – availability, price, reliability and drivability. The kit took about a year to completely imagine, design and engineer but should take an enthusiast less time to put together. And that’s because all the nuts and bolts come in clearly marked packets with detailed video instructions!

Importantly, Dowsetts claim the Tipo 184 can be built at home, at any garage and doesn’t require any specialty equipment either. It’s also road-legal, whereas Ant Anstead’s Alfa 158 homage was not. The Tipo 184 is road legal in the UK, and several states in the US. It even offers optional parts such as fenders and additional lights to make it legal in states that require these items. It's also track-ready with the optional rollbar, in case you were wondering.

The kit itself is made up of tubeframe chassis and the rolling parts you need to get going. All it requires to complete the car is the engine, gearbox, electronics, brakes and suspension off a Mazda Miata NB. Since the kit comes from a UK-based company, it needs the steering rack of a right-hand drive Miata to work as intended but we hear there are workarounds for that if you only have access to left-hand drive cars. One includes Dowsetts sending across the right steering rack along with the kit.

Related: These European Sports Cars Look Fast, But They Can't Even Keep Up With A Miata

Though the company recommends using the 1.8-liter from the Miata NB, which made just under 150 hp, the aftermarket support for these engines is immense. More power is just a bolt-on away. Though, considering the Tipo 184 only weighs about 1,631 lb, a 0-60mph time around 7s is very achievable. The Tipo 184 uses the same 5-speed syncromesh gearbox as the Miata, which also means that it’s easy to drive. There’s no complex double-declutch procedures to worry about here! It even hides the catalytic converter within the heat shields of the period-correct exhausts.

Now, while purists might scoff at the humble underpinnings, the point of the Tipo 184 is bringing the joy of owning a historic racecar that’s also road-legal to more people. Consider that the price of Miata NBs is low enough for anyone to take up as project, and that the Tipo 184 is easy enough to assemble, it’s the perfect kit car for a beginner car-builder to choose. And it’s a hell of a lot more desirable than any other Miata.

From playing with HotWheels to tracking his race toy, Sam's come a long way. A penchance for translating his automotive hijinks and geekery into the written word comes in handy every now and then...