2010 Mazdaspeed 3 Preview

Critical Knowledge:

• Redesigned for 2010
• Europe gets a 260-hp, 2.3-liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine
• Top speed of 155 mph
• 6-speed manual transmission
• Standard limited-slip differential
• Oversized disc brakes
• Race-tuned sport suspension
• North American Mazdaspeed 3 debuts at the 2009 New York Auto Show

Introduction
Launched in 1968 as “Mazda Sports Corner,” Mazdaspeed is synonymous with high performance. The company’s high-performance tuning division started as an in-house racing division competitive in the famed 24 hours of Le Mans race series. Mazda assumed full control of the division in the late 1990s and tasked Mazdaspeed with building consumer-oriented performance models. The first car introduced to the North American market was an upgraded Mazda Protégé MP3 with increased engine power. It was followed by the Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata. The success of those models led to the Mazdaspeed 6 (based on the Mazda 6) and Mazdaspeed 3 (based on the Mazda 3).

The all-new 2010 Mazda 3 MPS is the European-spec variant of the upcoming North American 2010 Mazdaspeed 3, which is set to debut at the 2009 New York Auto Show. The all-new 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 is a performance-oriented 5-door hatchback. A product of Mazda’s famed Mazdaspeed unit, the factory-upgraded vehicle is based on the redesigned 2010 Mazda 3 model. Dissimilar both mechanically and aesthetically from its sibling, Mazda says the race-tuned Mazdaspeed 3 is one of the fastest front-wheel-drive compact cars on the road today.