256hp Mazdaspeed 3
This may be the OTM to top all OTMs...
From Edmunds:
Mazda Gets Ready to Launch 256-horsepower "Hot Hatch" Version of 3
Date Posted 04-20-2005
HIROSHIMA, Japan — Mazda is readying a 'hot hatch' version of the Mazda3 — and we're talking jalapeño! The 3 MPS (Mazda Performance Series) uses the same 2.3-liter engine as the bigger 6 MPS, and this could make the car the hottest hatch on the market.
The 6 MPS puts out 256 horsepower — way more than the VW Golf GTI (197 hp) or the forthcoming Opel/Vauxhall Astra VXR (237 hp). This should give the 3 MPS a 0-to-60 mph time of below 7 seconds — blistering performance.
The 3 MPS will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will go on sale shortly after. Its aggressive styling affirms Mazda is quickly shaking off its fuddy-duddy image, helped by the RX-8 and MX-5 sports cars.
These are likely to be joined in future by a new version of the classic rotary-engined RX-7 two-door coupe. This would sit between the MX-5 and the RX-8 and be powered by the RX-8's powerful rotary engine. Mazda insiders maintain the car will be built, but it is still at least three years away.
What this means to you: Continuing the trend in North America, Mazda is attempting to boost its brand by shedding its dull skin and pumping more exciting models.
and hopefully cheaper too!
Let's just hope they bring this one to the US
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105417
no mention of AWD however.... and they are a little off on teh facts.. the 6 makes 274 horsepower in US trim. Maybe that's 256PS? I'm not sure..
Except that 274hp = ~270ps, not 256ps.Originally Posted by rx7gslse
I hope it's awd - 256hp in a short wheelbase front driver sounds like a recipe for torque steer.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Well, Volvo offers the S40 with AWD, so the Mazda 3 platform is probably compatible with such a system. Then again, the old Focus RS desperately needed AWD and didn't get it. So Ford could go either way on this one.
One thing's for sure: an AWD, 256hp, 5-door Mazda 3 with a suspension tuned by the same guys who tuned the RX-8 and Miata sounds like serious fun.
It'd also probably cost $25,000. At which point it would have to be pretty darn good to compete with the WRX and 9-2X Aero.
I admit, I would find this an attractive package. If you could get one for, say, $22,500, it would be pretty irresistable.
S.
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