Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats; only the reveal line per segment is fixed.
Scored as: 2022+ GR86, FA24, manual · Total: 49/70 · Target runtime: ~6:30, ceiling 7:00
Title (curiosity gap): "The GR86 Has One Problem Nobody Warns You About"
Thumbnail word: "GRENADE?" plus a big 49 on the Board
Order: Deal, Drive, Upkeep, Risk, Daily, Limit, Mods, Board, Verdict
Framing rule: this Board ranks best buy, not best car. Say it if the Miata comparison comes up.

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Hook, one sentence (~0:05)

Pick one. Cut straight to The Deal on the last word. No intro, no logo sting.

1. "So you wanna buy a GR86. It out-grips and out-brakes almost everything at this price, and the engine can grenade itself on the exact track day it was built for."
2. "So you wanna buy a GR86. It beats the Miata on paper in almost every way that matters, so why did a slower, cheaper roadster still out-score it?"

Recommend #1: it's the de-risking frame (your proven lane), it confirms the click (great car) and reopens the loop (the engine) in one breath. Save #2 for the ranking video where the Miata is on screen.

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1 · The Deal, reveal 7 (~0:45)

Beats

• Who it's for: the driver who wants more car than a Miata and a back seat, and will pay a bit more to get it
• Buy-in: clean 2022 used ~$23,600 (KBB private-party); retail listings ~$28,500
• New now ~$30k, so used is not the steal the Miata's used-vs-new gap is
• The catch vs the Miata: it holds value worse, down 18 to 24% over three years
• Trim map (on screen): Base rides on 17s · Premium adds 18s and a few comfort items; either is the enthusiast car

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2 · The Drive, reveal 8 (~0:50)

Beats

• This is where it beats the Miata, and it's not close on paper
• 228 hp / 184 lb-ft, ~2,833 lb, 12.4 lb per hp, 0-60 in 5.4s
• The 2.4 flat-four fixed the first-gen's torque dip; usable midrange now, revs to 7,500
• Boxer character and sound is the signature; not a Miata's delicacy, but more muscle
• Say it plain: quicker, grippier, more usable power than the roadster

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3 · The Upkeep, reveal 5 (~0:40)

Beats

• Define once: what it costs to run, not to buy
• ~$5,496 a year all in (fuel ~$2,090, insurance ~$2,589, tires ~$320, service ~$500)
• Drinks 91 premium and gets ~23 combined, so fuel is a real line
• Wider, grippier tires than a Miata wear faster and cost more
• Insurance sits 32nd of 115 sports cars, where the Miata sits 1st
• Honest: about $1,870 a year more than a Miata to keep

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4 · The Risk, reveal 6 (~1:05)

Beats (the centerpiece, this is why they clicked, give it room)

• The scary headline, stated straight: the FA24 engine can spin a rod bearing and fail outright
• Two documented causes, both confirmed across independent sources:
  • excess factory RTV sealant clogging the oil pickup, starving the engine of oil
  • oil-pressure drops in sustained right-hand corners on track (instrumented testing reproduced it)
• Who's exposed: mostly tracked cars, daily risk is lower, but nobody knows exactly how widespread
• The gut-punch: this is the car built for track days, and track days are where it's most at risk
• The mitigation (the useful part): a proactive oil-pan drop to clean the RTV, an oil cooler for track use, shorter oil intervals
• The buy-check: get a PPI that confirms whether the oil pan has been dropped and cleaned
• Balance it: otherwise a 4.0 out of 5 owner rating, no other scary failure
• Honest verdict: you are buying an engine you have to manage

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5 · The Daily, reveal 6 (~0:35)

Beats

• Where it beats the Miata again: it's actually usable
• 6.3 cu ft trunk plus a 2+2, so real cargo and occasional-people space
• The party trick (show it): fold the rear seats flat and a full set of track tires goes inside
• Rear seat is tight (about 30 inches of legroom), fine for kids or bags, not adults
• Passes the only-car test for a single person or a couple in a way a two-seat Miata can't

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6 · The Limit, reveal 8 (~0:55)

Beats

• Raw capability is superb: 0.98 g on the skidpad, stops from 70 in 156 feet with no fade
• Both clearly better than the Miata; Torsen limited-slip standard, sharp and adjustable
• A genuine track-day and canyon weapon out of the box
• The asterisk, and it's a big one: the engine oil-starvation risk from The Risk lives right here, in sustained hard cornering
• So its best strength and its worst weakness share one segment
• That's why it lands where it does rather than higher

Ratify note, off camera: proposed 8 not 9 because the oil-starvation risk sits in this category. You and Dan decide if raw pace deserves the 9. This is the number most likely to move.

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7 · The Mods, reveal 8 (~0:40)

Beats

• Two paths, same as any of these cars
• Handling: elite and cheap, a deep parts shelf, shared with the BRZ
• Power: higher ceiling than a Miata, about 340 whp on forced induction on the stock engine
  • supercharger ~280 to 303 whp, or a turbo ~300 to 325 on pump gas, roughly $6k to $8k all in
• The catch, and it ties back to The Risk: the same cast rods that can fail stock are exactly what boost stresses most
• Payoff: build a razor-sharp handling car cheaply and safely, or chase power and budget for a built engine sooner than most

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The Board + Verdict (~0:55)

Beats

• Total lands: 49 out of 70
• Place it on the Board, spec table ~10s, hit only what differs
• The cross-shop payoff: it beats the Miata on Drive, Daily, and Mods, and still finished behind it
• Why: the Miata won the categories that cost you money and the one that can cost you an engine
• Say the framing out loud: this is best buy, not best car; the GR86 is arguably the better machine, the Miata the safer money
• Verdict with condition: "Buy. But budget for the engine, and get a pre-purchase inspection that checks the oil pan."
• Skip case, stated fairly: if you'll track it hard and won't do the preventive work, walk
• Point to the full car page and the ranking video, then out

On screen: 49 hits the Board, slots just under the Miata · Buy stamp + condition line
Close cue: one line to the ranking video · end, no long outro

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Runtime + notes

• Sum is roughly 6:30. If it runs long in the edit, trim The Mods and The Daily first; protect The Risk and The Limit, the two people came for.
• Every score is a proposal until you and Dan reconcile. Most likely to move: The Limit (8 vs 9, the engine-risk-in-this-category call).
• Title and thumbnail share zero words. Verify before publish.
• Framing: say "best buy" if the Miata result comes up, so the ranking doesn't read as "Miata is a better car than a GR86."