Remember the Mazdaspeed3?
Mazda doesn’t exactly have a long and illustrious history of making hot hatchbacks. But on the rare occasions that it does, we can say these were solid efforts. The 323 GT-X was a homologation special for the World Rally Championship, and it took decades for Mazda to follow it up with the Mazdaspeed3.
The Mazdaspeed3, also known as the Mazda3 MPS in other parts of the world and the Axela MPS in Japan, was Hiroshima’s last hot hatch. Mazda produced it from 2007 to 2013 in two generations, and it hasn’t built a performance hatch since. Its 2.3-liter turbocharged engine was good for 263 hp and 280 lb-ft for both generations of the car. Oh, and it was front-wheel drive with a limited-slip differential instead of being all-wheel drive. Torque steer was, indeed, the order of the day.
Mazda
A Possible Comeback
It’s been 13 years since Mazda last made a hot hatch, but a report from Japan hints it’s coming back. According to MotorFan, Mazda3, now in its seventh year of production, will get a performance version.
The basis? The Mazda Spirit Racing 3 concept shown at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. It premiered alongside the Mazda Spirit Racing Roadster and later became a limited-run production model with more power and handling upgrades than the standard MX-5. It made 200hp, all without the help of any turbocharging, just old-school tuning through hardware and a little bit of software.
Mazda
Juicy Details
MotorFan then cited its ‘informants’ on the possible powertrain. According to the information given to the publication, the 2.5-liter turbo engine in the current model is the prime candidate for tuning. As it is, that engine makes 255 hp and 317 lb-ft on premium fuel (227 hp and 310 lb-ft on regular gas), so it has solid foundations if Mazda ever actually pushes through with it.
Now, the question would be how much power it could make. The publication reckons about 300hp, putting it right in the crosshairs of the GR Corolla. There’s a strong possibility of it being all-wheel drive, and given that the old Mazdaspeed3 was often criticized for torque steer, that might be the way to go. If so, adding all-wheel drive would be a nod to the often-forgotten 323 GTX from back in the day.
The information also claimed it might be out as early as the first half of 2027. Given that, the Spirit Racing 3 could reach production, as the commercial viability of the Spirit Racing brand proved successful for the MX-5. Besides, for a company that prides itself on Jinba Ittai and the joy of driving, a hot hatch is a strange omission that will hopefully be rectified soon.
Mazda
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