New Mazdaspeed6 Details Emerge

Justin Berkowitz
by Justin Berkowitz

OK; they're not the most detailed details. But we can "reveal" that like the new Mazdaspeed6 will have a turbocharged four-cylinder mill. This time out the 2.5-liter engine will be the base Mazda6 motor. Power will swell to something in the 280 horsepower neighborhood, with improved torque busting out all over. All wheel-drive will keep those horses harnessed, but no word as to whether Mazda has tweaked the system from the last iteration. Unleashing a Mazdaspeed6 is a little unusual for FoMoCo's partners. In days gone by, Mazda released the performance versions of their vanilla cars midway through the non-tweaked products' lifecycle (see: the Protege MPS, Mazdaspeed Miata, Mazdaspeed 6 and Mazda3). Still, the "early release" of the hi-po version is worth a try. The last Mazdaspeed6 was not what you'd call a volume seller.

Justin Berkowitz
Justin Berkowitz

Immensely bored law student. I've also got 3 dogs.

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  • Mirko Reinhardt Mirko Reinhardt on May 05, 2008

    @mxfive4 While I agree Mazda recent offerings have been great, including the 3. I think credit for raising the standard in the 3’s category goes to the Mini Cooper. How are these two in the same class? The Mazda3 is 177" long, while the Mini is 146". For comparicon's sake, a E46 BMW 3-series wagon is only 176".

  • Michael Karesh Michael Karesh on May 05, 2008

    The looks of the original MS6 didn't work for me. This one fixes that problem. Now hopefully it's also more fun to drive.

  • Anonymous Anonymous on May 05, 2008

    What the heck is the "zoom-zoom" company doing in not offering a manual witht he V6 in the new Mazda6!? I own an 04 Mazda6 with the V6 and if it hadn't been available with a manual, I'd probably be driving a car from another manufacturer (though the Mazda3 with the stick would have still had an outside shot). How can you expect people to buy into the "zoom-zoom" image if you don't offer your cars with a stick as well as the requisite auto? Is this another sign of the Fordifying of Mazda? As far as the size of the current Mazda6, I'm 6' and my wife is 6'1". When we test drive cars, we always tried sitting in the backseat with the other person in the driver's seat and we had no problems with space, not to mention the nice big trunk for carrying our luggage on trips.

  • Drifter Drifter on May 05, 2008

    Will it still have the vaunted full-size SUV rivaling 39+ feet turning radius as the current model?

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