Mazda3 MPS/Mazdaspeed3 rumored to appear at Geneva Motor Show
by Damon Lavrinc on Jan 14th 2009 at 4:00PM 
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2010 Mazdaspeed3
We've already seen the 2010 Mazda3 in sedan and five-door form, but as much as we love the standard model in all of its guises, there's one variant we're anxiously awaiting. The 2010 Mazdaspeed3 (or MPS to our friends abroad) is on the way, and according to our sources, it's coming to the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The 2010 MS3 has some huge shoes to fill after we fell in love with the current model during its time in the Autoblog Garage. We've gotten confirmation that the prototype spied at the Nurburging in October is, in fact, the new Mazdaspeed variant, although it's still unclear what turbocharged engine is being fed by that massive hoodscoop.
Early reports indicated that Mazda's boffins were hard at work retuning the current turbo'd 2.3-liter four-cylinder for duty in the 2010 model, but why invest the time in an upgrade when there's a perfectly suitable – and hugely powerful – 2.5-liter five-cylinder available from the Ford parts bin? The turbocharged Duratec fitted to the 2010 Focus RS seems like the obvious choice, with 295 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque being channeled to the front wheels through a six-speed manual and limited slip differential. We can hope – no, pray – this is Mazda's plan. And we're going to find out in just over two months time.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
t 4:11PM (1/14/2009)
I wish I wasn't poor..
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firstplace 6:12PM (1/14/2009)
holy hood scoop batman!
GT 12:25AM (1/15/2009)
Feel your pain, man
Mr. Coffee 4:13PM (1/14/2009)
I just hope the front clip of the MS3 is void of that ridiculous "smile" that's on the standard 3.
Otherwise...bring on the FWD horsepower per cost war.
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zamafir 4:17PM (1/14/2009)
Pass. There is such thing as too much power for a fwd platform, esp given the reviews of previous RS's out of EVO and CAR and their speculation on the handling characteristics of the 2010 RS. Aside from that, props to mazda for continuing to build a great enthusiast option.
Mr. Coffee 4:30PM (1/14/2009)
I agree to an extent. I would love for cars like this (SRT-4, Cobalt SS, etc.) to have AWD system to handle all the power (even really basic system), but I think the problem is making the car cost effective.
The first car company that can stuff 300HP and an AWD system into a nicely equipped 2/4/5 door vehicle for $25k and under has a real winner on its hands.
Because as far as I'm aware there isn't such a vehicle on the market currently...
BoneHeadOtto 4:37PM (1/14/2009)
bring it on but PLEASE keep it cheap!! Do not follow the lead of the other manufacturers who continue to raise their prices. (STI, EVO). Just keep it powerful, free of expensive useless luxury items and just give us cheap and practical speed please.!
Red 4:43PM (1/14/2009)
@ zamafir,
Even though they played shotgun, Car magazine says otherwise:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ford-Focus-RS-2009-first-ride/
maestro mario 6:56PM (1/14/2009)
Hmmm, there are signs of the ridiculous smile showing through the camo...
How about that tag line for publicity:
"The new MazdaSpeed3; It laugh at competition!"
shadysi 4:13PM (1/14/2009)
yes, yes please.
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ryan 4:14PM (1/14/2009)
i don't get it. didn't the last one have around 300 hp ish? so why would they take an engine from the ford parts bin when it's really not a change in power or fuel efficiency?
i understand that the 5 cylinder has more displacement and therefore it's not taxed as much as a 2.3l 4 cyl, but i just. don't. get. it.
could someone help me here?
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Mr. Coffee 4:15PM (1/14/2009)
The previous MS3 had 263HP if I remember right...
ryan 4:35PM (1/14/2009)
case closed. shoulda wiki'd it before i opened my mouth...
Steven 4:21PM (1/14/2009)
I'll help you here. It wouldn't make sense, especially since the new regular 3 has a 2.5 4-cylinder MZR engine (same designation as the 2.3) available now. Just make a DISI/Turbo version of that...What would make sense is to give it an AWD power-train at least as an option too.
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Mazda FTW! 4:28PM (1/14/2009)
That will probably be the most likely case but no-AWD, please. They did just fine with the 263HP FWD Gen1, I trust them to do just fine with a probably-285ish HP FWD machine.
This will definitely be my next car. Hopefully a more aggresive body kit and stance will tone down the smile up front on the regular models.
Rev 5:36PM (1/14/2009)
Yuck - i thought the FWD made the MS3 completely undriveable for me. Nothing worse than taking tight turns and that feeling of being tugged around from the front end. Or the torque steer. Of the steering wheel wobbling and car pulling left and right from going over train tracks or bad roads. Or sliding through a turn and the car's trying to put power down on the fronts while also trying to turn - so you have 30% contact to the road and the tires are forced to do two things. No thank you. I'd rather save my money for a car I can enjoy...
MS3 was THE car that reminded me of how great FWD is. For economy cars.
Hope they fix the exhaust note! Another major issue the MS3 needs to address...
James604 4:28PM (1/14/2009)
AWD and I would buy it. oh well I guess its off to the ugly Impreza....wait, that also looks like a Mazda 3 perfect!!!!!!!!!!
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havoc 4:57PM (1/14/2009)
the current 'speed3' is 263/280, with that torque peaking at a listed 3k rpm. from the driver's seat the car needs a little more oomph at the bottom end (less then 2500, if you try to launch you have to feather it or the traction control kills the boost), and it does run out of steam at the top. lower the redline a little and re-gear to take better advantage of the power band. i don't know the specs on the 2.5, was it bored or stroked (or both or entirely new)?
assumably the would use the 2.5 4cylinder, which can prob already accept all the related hardware like heads and manifolds. i would expect the next gen to have a better sized turbo, prob peaking at 285hp with a like number for toque. the main failignt o the current gen is when dyno'ing, the tmic doesn't work very well unless you strap a fan right to it (since there is little to no airflow over it when sitting still).
so maybe a dual scroll turbo, better ic management and prob a leaner fuel curve.
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Red 5:26PM (1/14/2009)
To answer your question about the MZR engine, it's entirely new and the same engine found in the 2009 Mazda 6.
havoc 5:34PM (1/14/2009)
@Red
"Changes from the previous 2.3L unit include a fatter bore and a longer stroke packed into a cylinder block with unchanged external dimensions by using cylinder-bore liners made of a steel-molybdenum alloy offering strength and stiffness increases of 30-percent. A forged-steel crankshaft provides the necessary stamina. Twin balance shafts located in the oil sump cancel second-order noise and vibration, allowing this engine to sing to its 6200 rpm redline.
The deep-skirt block is engineered for extra stiffness and main-bearing caps are integral with a ladder-type lower-block reinforcement. "
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/12/detroit-2009-2010-mazda3-hatch-just-as-happy-as-the-sedan/
i read that to mean internals are different, but external dimensions being the same, at least in the non-turbo form (in other words a progression from the previous MZR engine)