GTP Cool Wall: 1987-1989 Mazda 323 4WD Turbo GT

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1987-1989 Mazda 323 4WD Turbo GT


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Wiegert

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1987-1989 Mazda 323 4WD Turbo GT nominated by @mustafur

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Body Style: 3-door hatchback
Engine: 1.6L B6T Turbo I4
Power: 150 hp
Torque: 138 lb-ft
Weight 1100 kg
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Drivetrain: Front-engine, all wheel drive
Additional Information: Also known as the Familia GT-Xe in Japan this was the Limited edition Familia/323 Built to compete in Group A rally Which Provided Mazdas First Ever Victory in the 1987 Sweden Rally, and a Highest of 3rd in the constructors in 1989 With 2 wins.​

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Interesting but Seriously Uncool
 
I would rock this. I'm also seriously uncool.


Goes without saying.
 
Easily the coolest car we've had up for polling in a while. It checks pretty much all the boxes.
 
Nothing special. SU
 
Love the 323 GTX, up there me in terms of hot-hatches. Shame they're so rare over here in the UK.

A high cool for this gen of GTX (only stopped being SZ for me as I prefer the looks and curvy-er nature of it's succesor)
 
Retro Japanese hot-hatches that are at least relatively lightweight and have all-wheel-drive are cool almost always. The 323 GT is absolutely no exception.
 
Imagine picking up a date in one of these.

Uncool.
 
Edited my post. Thought I had S"Z". It was S"U".
Against the VW GTI and Colt turbo, the USA version, was our only real rally machine after the ur-Quattro. Having the double spoiler look(not quite), similar to the SVO Mustang and Merkur XR4Ti, made me wish for this car when I was 17 in '88.
 
Edited my post. Thought I had S"Z". It was S"U".
:lol:

I thought you were going by the same sort of reasoning as the next three replies after yours.
 
Personally, I think its incredibly dorky looking, and its styling is pretty bland. Its Group A history is kinda cool, but I certainly wouldn't drive one.

Uncool.
 
Very, very boring-looking.

Meh.
 
Cool, always loved these as a kid, one of my Neighbours owned one and it was a rocketship, sure it might of been upgraded a bit but those things stay with you.

Also in Australia we had a Ford Clone with the Laser TX3 Turbo which imo looked a bit better with those iconic headlights:
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Cool to car people but would be forgotten about by pretty much anyone else.
 
It's a fun little car that with the right modifications becomes a real weapon.

A mate of mine had a group A prepped GTX with a huge Schwitzer turbo that had ~240 hp.
On a gravel setup, with some less than ideal BFGoodrich M+S tyres, it would go sideways everywhere in the rain.

Not cool in the slightest though.
 
Sub-Zero.

Because, it was one of the mighty rally veterans from Japan, next to the WRX STI, Lancer Evo, Celica GT-Four, and (shockingly) Fairlady Z, etc...

EDITED: That, and I also wish the Mazda Demio (or, Mazda2) and CX-3 have inspirational variants, based on this special rally-focused 323.
 
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Kinda... budget Integrale. Except they were anything but inexpensive to buy from what I can recall.

It was an interesting spin on a fairly competent model but it's no nearer to being cool than it was 20 years ago.
 
Kinda... budget Integrale. Except they were anything but inexpensive to buy from what I can recall.

It was an interesting spin on a fairly competent model but it's no nearer to being cool than it was 20 years ago.
This car was pretty much a direct competitor to the HF Integrale 8V(before the more powerful ones came out in the early 90s).

They had about 30hp more but an extra 150kg as well.
 
Meh i like the following generation better.
 
You're a funny guy.
 
If you know what it's about, it's great. If you don't it looks like someone's put a spoiler on a Datsun Cherry. Not a cool look - and I love my Mazdas.
 
On a long list of '80s hot hatches I'd love to own, this isn't anywhere near the top.
 
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