What the heck is the Hurtan Grand Albaycin Roadster and why does it exist? When your first thought is, “Why would anyone make that?” it’s a bad sign. Then, when you know it started out as a Mazda Miata you wonder why anyone would do that to a Mazda? Maybe after we find out we’ll appreciate it more, because right now we don’t appreciate it at all.

There is a boutique limited-edition upfitter in Spain called Hurtan. It sees a market for making these roadsters. So right now there are two versions of these things running around with camo on them. One is based on an MX-5 retractable fastback. The one you see here is made from a Miata. It will be revealed without camo on January 22, 2021. 

Looking inside of the roadster we see what is essentially an off-the-shelf MX-5 interior. There is some wood trim we don’t remember seeing inside of MX-5s. And the steering wheel is obviously new, too. There are also the requisite logos, in this case, Hurtan’s which are stitched into the seats and other parts of the interior.

What Hurtan does is add fiberglass bulbous fender forms to the body

What Hurtan does is add fiberglass bulbous fender forms to the body to give it a most distinctive look. It may not be a good look but it is surely distinctive, Then, just to make sure you notice them Hurtan paints a lighter insert onto the fenders. Not that you won’t see them immediately. They practically hit you on top of the head. 

Since this is based on the Miata we assume that its powertrain remains the same. That means it is a 1.5-liter four-cylinder with 129 hp or a slightly larger four-cylinder 2.0-liter engine putting out 181 hp. We can’t say how much weight is added, nor how aerodynamics react to the added mass but it will definitely be slower than a Miata. 

With its over-scaled fenders and weird proportions, it just looks off

We guess that Hurtan was after a retro roadster look. But with its over-scaled fenders and weird proportions, it just looks off. And while the bug-eye headlights look great on a Triumph or Sprite they look odd at best on Hurtan’s prototype. 

We can’t begin to understand the appeal of the Hurtan Grand Albaycin roadster to its creators nor to potential buyers. Once inside it is probably an enjoyable trip. But that’s because you’re not looking at the outside of it. What we can say is that there’s a butt for every seat, and so there will be people out there who would buy one. Who appreciates what Hurtan hands have wrought. We just don’t understand it.