Mazda3 Turbo breaks cover, but …

The much-rumoured hotshot Mazda3 has been revealed. It’s exciting. Don’t let it get to you.

 RIGHT out of left field … and, unfortunately, at this stage only likely to be built in left-hand drive.

 That’s the news about the much-anticipated Mazda3 Turbo, whose existence was finally properly confirmed today in an announcement that also makes clear just Canada, Mexico and the United States are the only cited markets.

Mazda New Zealand has reinforced this, saying prior to the unveiling (but subsequent to an early sneak peak out of Mexico): “With regards to the Mazda3 Turbo, we currently do not have any information on availability of this vehicle for right-hand drive markets.” Asked, in wake of today’s announcement, if it had anything fresh to say, it said it had not.

What makes that news all the harder to take is that the first Mazda3 hot hatch – and sedan (cos it’s coming in both shapes) – since the MPS seems perfectly baked.

 In addition to releasing the two images here, Mazda USA has also provisioned enough technical info about a product they’ll have on the street within a few months to make it patently obvious it’s even more pumped than was first conjectured. 

Though intrinsically the same unit running in the CX-5, CX-9 and Mazda6, the model’s 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine has been retuned to produce 186kW and 434Nm. As against 140kW/252Nm in the CX-5 and 170kW/420Nm in the larger models.

Regardless of all the extra mumbo, those outputs relate unevenly against obvious rivals already working the scene here – basically, less power than a lot but generally more torque.

The Hyundai i30 N makes 202kW/378Nm, the newly-arrived Ford Focus ST has 207kw/420Nm, the Honda Civic Type-R cracks out 228kW/400Nm and VW’s Golf GTI and Golf R respectively deliver 180kW/370Nm and 213kW/380Nm.

The Mazda is four-wheel-drive and, interestingly, will avail purely with a version of the six-speed automatic that’s staple fare in Mazda product here.

The images don’t give too much away about the appearance pack, but enough is shown to suggest it’s quite subdued, save for the addition of some additional black exterior elements, such as a front splitter and rear spoiler.