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

  • Thread starter Wiegert
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1987-1989 Mazda 323 4WD Turbo GT


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    89
  • Poll closed .

Wiegert

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United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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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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)
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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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.
 
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.
 
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