--- title: "Gotcha: ‘Lamborghini V10’ Miata at SEMA Is Really Just an LS V8" date: "2024-11-08" modified: "2024-11-08" authors: - name: "Ronan Glon" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/ronan-glon" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/that-sema-miatas-lamborghini-engine-is-actually-just-a-chevy-v8" categories: - "Builds" - "Culture" - "Mazda News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Convertible" - "mazda" - "Mazda Miata" - "miata" - "mx-5" - "SEMA" - "sports car" --- # Gotcha: ‘Lamborghini V10’ Miata at SEMA Is Really Just an LS V8 ![]() We've seen so many [wild engine swaps]() displayed at SEMA that it takes a lot to surprise us, but [a first-generation Miata]() fitted with a twin-turbo Lamborghini V10 certainly fit the bill. Or it would have if it were true, because a closer look reveals that this build's Lamborghini intake is highly misleading. Even at [the SEMA show](), where out-of-this-world builds are the norm, the little Miata turns heads. It's finished in a distinctive shade of blue, it's got turbos where you'd expect to find pop-up headlights, and there's a Lamborghini-branded intake system seemingly sourced from [a Huracán]() poking through the hood. It's all over social media; Hot Parts USA, the shop that built it and hauled it to Las Vegas, [describes it]() as a "1992 Miata Lamborghini twin turbo." > That's a Chevy truck engine with a Lamborghini intake slapped on top. Not a Lamborghini engine. [https://t.co/Is5hkK47mc]() [pic.twitter.com/o4DKIdSoMI]() > — Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) [November 7, 2024]() Bozi Tatarevic, a race-car mechanic and journalist with a sharp eye for BS, disagrees. He's got the evidence to prove it, too. [Posting on X](), he shattered the "Lamborghini-powered" claim and explained that we're instead looking at either a 5.3-liter V8 or a 6.6-liter V8 sourced from a General Motors pickup or SUV. This is the same engine that has powered the Tahoe and Silverado, among other models. The water pump is supposedly a giveaway, and Tatarevic points out that the builders used a custom-made adapter box to install a 10-cylinder intake system on an eight-cylinder engine. Stuffing a V8 in an older Miata [is cool](), but it's not all that original. Flyin' Miata even offered swap kits until emissions regulations [forced it to stop](). Even the folks running the SEMA show's Facebook account [were fooled](). Several other show-goers noticed that we're not looking at a Huracán engine, however, and the comments haven't been exactly kind. "It's an old Chevy small block and \[it\] doesn't run," one user [wrote on Instagram](). "Sick until you realize it's an LS and \[it\] doesn't run," another opined. Interestingly, a Portuguese-language Instagram account [presented]() the build as a Corvette V8-powered Miata that's fitted with a Lamborghini intake system. Hot Parts USA hasn't replied to any of these comments. We'll reserve judgment on whether the company is intentionally trying to mislead SEMA show-goers with its Lamborghini-branded NA, or if it's just out to deliver a good old-fashioned trolling. What's certain is that there's not a Lamborghini-sourced V10 between between the fenders. So, who is going to be the first to build a real Lamborghini-powered Miata? Send us pictures if you do. *Got tips? Send ’em to [tips@thedrive.com]()* ## Author Ronan is a contributing writer for The Drive. He draws on over 15 years of experience to cover breaking industry news, cool one-off builds, and anything in between. He began writing for The Drive in 2021 and stepped into his current role in 2024. His obsession with cars started when a relative gave him a Majorette die-cast shortly after his first birthday. It hasn't flickered since. Ronan lives in France; He swapped Utah's Rocky Mountains, where he grew up, for the Alps. He's an avid hiker, mountain biker, and musician. He also restores classic European cars and mopeds, including a 1978 Citroen 2CV that he's rebuilding from the ground up. ### Author social links [Twitter]()