Mazda preps performance models

04 November 2005 :: Filed under Four wheel drive, Hatchback, Saloon, Mazda 3, Mazda 6, Europe & UK

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6 and 3 get direct injection turbo power

Mazda’s 6 MPS is due out in January. That much we already know. But could the same 2.3-litre, direct injection petrol lump find its way into the Mazda 3?

As fitted to the 6 MPS (Mazda Performance Series), Mazda’s new direct injection petrol mill kicks out 260bhp, in part courtesy of a pair of turbo chargers. Power is delivered to all four wheels via a new six-speed manual gearbox. And thanks to restrained styling, notably the absence of a rear wing as big as a small pony or a bucket-sized bonnet scoop, it’s a sight more subtle and grown up than the Evos, WRXs and STis of this world.

However, What Car magazine also has news of a possible MPS variant of the Focus-based Mazda 3 hatchback. As yet not officially confirmed by Mazda, the MPS 3 will use the same 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engine as the MPS 6. However, the MPS 3 will not share its bigger sibling’s all-wheel drivetrain, forcing Mazda to detune the engine to around 240bhp for a front-drive installation.

Still, the MPS 3 will be amongst the most powerful cars in the ever-swelling full-sized hot hatch class that already includes the Vauxhall Astra VXR, Golf GTI and Focus ST. And it should give the 222bhp Focus ST, with which it shares most of its underpinnings, a solid spanking for pure poke.

As for performance numbers, the What Car reckons the MPS 6 will hit 60 in 6.3 seconds and max out at 165mph, while the MPS 3 is expected to blitz the sprint in 6.1 seconds on its way to 160mph. To think, 160mph used to be the preserve of bone fide exotica…

The Mazda 6 MPS:

Linkage:
What Car story