SEMA 2011: Mazda Delivers The Goods

You gotta love Mazda.  While some of their national competitors are chasing the big bucks with boring mainstream transportation appliances, Mazda still retains a bit of their whacky engineering hot-rod charm.  Want proof?  the Mazda2 Turbo that they're showing at SEMA this year.

As I guessed yesterday, the Mazda2 Turbo is powered by the engine from the MazdaSpeed (MPS) 3 - the 2.3L DISI-Turbo.  This engine, with 263 horsepower and 280lb-ft of torque, is a monster in the 3,000+lb MS3.  While the standard Mazda2 is a fun steer, consider this: dropping in the 2.3 DISI is an increase of 163 horsepower and 182 lb-ft of torque.  That's a 2.63x increase in horsepower.  This is why I love Mazda.  The normal top-mount intercooler was removed and replaced with a front-mount that sits in the 2's smiling grille, likely because the top mount won't fit.  Surprisingly, there's not a lot of pimp 'n polish in the engine bay - I suppose the presence of that 2.3 DISI-Turbo is enough.

Obviously, a Mazda2 with 2.5 times more horsepower would be a handful.  (2.5 times!)  So Mazda's gurus have gone through the chassis to make sure this rocketship can turn and stop too.  H&R coilovers, Corksport sway bars, and Brembo 13" front rotors help keep it sane.  17" OZ Racing alloys mount sticky Yokohama Advan Neova's (215/45/ZR17) that probably still don't have a snowball's chance in hell of putting 280lb-ft at 3,000rpm to the ground.  Maybe with Haldex AWD.

Inside, the Mazda 2 Turbo has a set of seats that will help to hold you in place a little better than the flat stockers - leather trimmed racing buckets with pass-throughs and a six-point harness.  The stock rear bench is there; good luck rear-seaters.  Buckle up tight.  The stock gauge cluster is circular-binned, replaced with an AiM Pista MXL digital cluster and data acquisition system.  The short-throw six speed from the MS3 is transplanted as well - I wonder what would happen to the standard 2's 5-speed transaxle if it was asked to transfer all that power?  Hand grenade impersonation?  Of course, the Mazda2 Turbo also gets a wild paint job - black, white, yellow and green - with low-hanging splitters and skirts.  Looks awesome.  I want to drive this.

Mazda is bringing another 2 concept to SEMA as well - this one done up by 3dCarbon.  Not quite as exciting as the MS3-swapped Mazda effort, it's still impressive in a show-car way.  Custom bodywork and paint, 18" wheels, and a rear spoiler are pretty much it.  Still, it shows how good-looking a Mazda2 can be with a few aesthetic mods.

There are two Mazda MX-5 Concepts - one old, one new.  The old one - the MX-5 Super20 - was at last year's SEMA show, only painted black.  This year it's sporting a Hyper Orange Mica paint job (who comes up with these paint names?  They need a raise) with matte-black roof and wheel arches, hiding 16" Enkei RPF-1 alloys with Proxes RA-1 race rubber.  The motor is the 2.0L MZR boosted with a Cosworth supercharger setup.  It also has a comprehensive suspension overhaul: coilovers, hollow sway bars, and strut brace, as well as improved brakes.

The new MX-5 concept is the Spyder, which I showed you yesterday.  The biggest change is the single-panel snap on roof, which was designed by Mazda NA and Magna Top Systems.  It attaches to the windshield header like a normal top, and is secured to the trunk by two locks.  The front clip is custom, with integrated LED running lights, as are the side skirts.  Mazdaspeed Coilovers drop the Spyder over 17" Gun Metal Metallic 10-spoke Advan RS wheels with Yokohama A048 tires (225/45/ZR17).  Other goodies include a Racing Beat header/intake/exhaust, a Braille Li-Ion lightweight battery, a Brembo big brake kit (seriously, what is with the BBK's on mostly stock show cars?) and a customized interior with saddle-black leather seats.  Even more odd - the Spyder is tuned to run on BP Isobutanol, which is the ethanol-based race fuel that the Mazda/Dyson team uses in ALMS.

Mazda is one of the few mainstream manufacturers that still "get" the enthusiast bent.  You can tell because they didn't bring any SUV's riding on 24's to SEMA - they brought hot rods.  More power to them.