The hottest version of the next-generation Mazda3 has been spied testing at the Nurburgring.
Our secret photos reveal the new Mazda3 MPS will imitate Subaru's iconic WRX with a bonnet scoop and larger rear wing when it reaches local showrooms in the second half of 2009.
The bonnet scoop contributes to the new 3 MPS's more aggressive styling that responds to criticism that the original looked too subtle for a car boasting 190kW – still a class-leading power output until the updated WRX launches locally in December 2008.
The ultimate Mazda3's new bonnet scoop, however, has also been introduced because the new-generation model's new, lower grille – seen in official pictures of the Mazda3 sedan – is not large or high enough to feed sufficient air to the MPS's top-mounted intercooler.
That intercooler sits atop a carried-over version of the current 3 MPS's 2.3-litre turbocharged direct-injection four-cylinder – though, as our spy pictures reveal, exhaust gases will exit via two single pipes this time rather than one.
Power and torque (380Nm) figures will remain barely unchanged, though fuel consumption (currently 10.0L/km) will be improved.
Mazda engineers have instead focused on making the new 3 MPS quicker in the real world – as well as making it a more sophisticated all-rounder.
A Mazda insider told Drive that the 3 MPS has been benchmarked against the Golf GTI in an effort to mimic the VW hot-hatch's near-perfect balance of supple ride and sharp handling.
"We've aimed to make the new Mazda3 MPS a more polished all-rounder rather than a hardcore hot-hatch," says our Mazda source.
This also means addressing another criticism of the outgoing model: the torque steer (tugging of the steering wheel under acceleration) that's a consequence of so much power going through the front wheels.
Mazda has worked on improving how the 3 MPS gets its power to the ground by finessing the 3 MPS's electronic limited-slip differential, as well as the torque-control measures used for first and second gears during take-off and cornering.
Inside word also has it that the new Mazda3 MPS is faster around the fabled Nurburgring than the outgoing model, which has already proved to be no slouch by lapping the 21km track in 8 minutes, 39 seconds.
There's European speculation that Mazda will add a new, diesel-powered MPS in the near future - powered by the new 2.2-litre turbo diesel that debuts locally in the Mazda6 mid-size sedan this December.
The diesel engine is good for 136kW and 400Nm, the latter, torque figure certainly worthy of a hot-hatch. It would allow Mazda to join the growing band of car makers such as Renault and Skoda to introduce diesel hot-hatches. Subaru is also working on a diesel WRX.
The Mazda3 hot-hatch will be the first MPS to make it into second-generation form after the first Mazda to wear the three-letter performance moniker – the all-wheel-drive Mazda6 MPS – was discontinued due to lack of global demand.
The new Mazda3 sedan makes its public debut at the 2008 Los Angeles motor show on 19 November, with the hatch following on 3 December at the Bologna motor show in Italy.
The new Mazda3 models reach Australia in mid-2009.
i personally like the whole masking tape and stuff they put over the front of the car to disguise its unfinished ness
