2008 Mazda3 MPS Targa Tasmania
9 Apr, 2008
28 Comments 
Mazda Australia has today unveiled its brand new Mazda3 MPS rally car ahead of its race debut at Targa Tasmania next week.
Mazda will have two of its specially prepped rally cars competing, driven by Rick Bates and Alister McRae.
Competing in the 2WD Showroom competition, the near standard 190kW Mazda3 MPS will travel 2000km over five grueling days of competition.
In accordance with the regulations of the category, the Mazda3 MPS race car retains its standard audio equipment, power windows, carpets and upholstery intact.
Only the suspension springs, shock absorbers, brake pads, seats, belts and the steering wheel have been replaced, with the inclusion of a PCD roll cage, racing seats with five-point safety harnesses, fire extinguishers and navigating equipment.
Unofficially the hottest hot-hatch on the market, Mazda is out to prove its Mazda3 MPS has the handling and pedigree to match its reputation.
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
************************PRIMO*************************
I beat Frugal One twice in a row!!!!!!!!!
Nice looking mazda too!
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Hah! My password was Mazda.
This will kick some serious ass. The MPS3 is a weapon, one of the most under-rated cars on the market.
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Remove all the advertising and that would be one sweet looking compact streetcar.
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
ZOOM ZOOM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO MAZDA………
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Yay… another understeer monster… no thank you.. Rear-wheel-drive/All-wheel-drive or nothing thanks.
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April 9th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
DUCK -
WAY to fast for me! LOL :-)
MPS, same engine as the CX7 which this great website will be testing soon [as promised!]
Cheers
F-O [Patient!]
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April 9th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
It looks like a mini station wagon.
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April 9th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Torque steer monster, horrible. its a hot hatch not a race car
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April 9th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
so i take it its a FWD? Be interesting to see how it goes against the AWD and RWD drive cars, or are there none in its class???
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April 9th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I agree mitch,in this year 12hr the MPS,from were i was it looked to be the most unstable car across the top of the mountian,besides the big V8s
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April 9th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
This may interest you Mazda3 MPS haters. One of these recently won its class in the NZ standard production circuit racing series. Admittedly there wasn’t much else in its class apart from a couple of Type R Integras and a Type R Civic (new model Japanese spec), but the interesting bit was how close it was to the more powerful 4WD EVO 9s and STis from the next class up, especially in the wet races where it gave them a real hard time. Put it down to driver skill if you like, but this is one car that really delivers, if you know how to drive around its limitations.
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April 9th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
may be so Cap’ain Mainwaring - but the question is, why impose these avoidable limitations in the first place!
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April 9th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
FH. Because AWD might provide levels of power-on grip which tickles the nuts of some, but it introduces weight and inertia downsides. It’s also much more fun (and far safer) to know where your limits are on a public road and keep within them. When a powerful AWD car ultimately decides to let go it’s all over.
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April 10th, 2008 at 11:12 am
You guys crack me up…”torque-steer monster…nothing beats RWD/AWD…etc”. Have any of you guys ever driven the car (or further to the point on a track at its limit)? I would bet that NO you havent, yet you sit here and give opinions on things like you are experts. You are the same tossers I see driving around palmsteering the wheel on your SS’, XR8’s and WRX’s with the other arm resting safely (ahem) on the window or the gearknob confident in your abition (but lacking in ability).
And for the record. Yes I have done these things I accuse you of not doing and have doen so at a professional level.
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April 10th, 2008 at 11:38 am
When alot of power goes through the front wheels, torque steer happens. It’s physics.
Every other HIGH powered front driver in history has and sure this car is NO different :)
Looks like the one that rolled at Bathurst and had the engine fly out
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April 10th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
“Widely acknowledged” and “Vastly Superior” is a “Highly Subjective” opinion. sheesh..! The primary reason for making a car FWD is Cost Savings to the manufacturer. Get a grip!
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April 10th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Hairy Dicks & Balls - what a clown!
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April 10th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Harry, taken your medication this week. Seriously, my cousin is a leading specialist in this area and could probably move you up the consultation queue, with my recommendation.
Do us all a favour please, and go bother the guys at cars guide and drive and leave us alone, unless you have something intelligent to say.
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April 10th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
What happened to Hairy Balls post? It seems to have …disappeared….
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April 10th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
“When alot of power goes through the front wheels, torque steer happens. It’s physics.
Every other HIGH powered front driver in history has and sure this car is NO different”
Do some research before you start saying stuff you know nothing about. The Mazda 3 MPS has smart electronics such as limited slip differential with torque limiters etc. to aid its large amount of power. Also if you look at reviews the Mazda 3 MPS handles much more better than AWD cars such as WRXs. (EdmundsVideo)
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April 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
I don’t understand why people can’t drive the MPS3, I drove it just after the launch and found it to be quite capable in terms of handling and the torque steer was incredibly well managed. Learn to drive I say!
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April 10th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Either they cant afford to buy one, they dont have confidence in their ability to handle the power, or they dont want to drive it and realise what a weapon it is.
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April 10th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Thanks everybody (except the cap-backwards 4WD freaks) for putting the 3 MPS into perspective.
Speaking about the benefits of 4WD, who saw the 5th gear video of the Golf GTi vs. the Impreza WRX on the track? Result was that the front wheel drive Golf with 30 horsepower less managed to trounce the 4WD WRX. Can’t have been just the tyres.
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April 10th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
What gets me is this is Mazda’s second year in with the MPS3 as last year it finished tenth and first in the showroom class ahead of more fancier cars…take home again Horsley and prove to people that the Mazda and the MPS3 are not just good cars but great ones…
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April 10th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Not to say this is not a capable car in its own right, however the truth will come out with the Tassie Targa results. And if last years lack of a podium finish is anything to go by, then the Mazda fans may be disappointed.
Sure the MPS team did beat some Rexis Evos and the like so you gotta be at least happy with that.
Maybe it just came down to driver ability last year. But then, why arent the drivers with the most ability driving the MPS…
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June 20th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
My, there are certainly some strong opinions on this car!
I will have to agree with Fenno and Matt, have any of you bagging this car actually driven it?? Did you know how to drive it properly???
I am a V8 man through and through, I love my muscle cars and have owned various Holden’s over the years and love the roar of dual pipes with glass-pack mufflers!
We have a 74 HQ Monaro GTS Coupe hiding in the shed, and have recently retired my old daily driver (a sweet 91 VN SS manual) to sit alongside the Munro.
I have had my eye one the MPS ever since they came out 6 months after we brought my wife’s Mazda 3 Maxx Sport.
With the ever increasing fuel prices, it was time for something a bit cheaper to run than a new VE SS-V.
I picked up a one owner MPS with only 3950k’s on her in Black Mica, apparently the first owner was one of you wowsers who “didn’t like the way it drove”. At least he gave it a go…
I got to go on the Mazda Performance Driver Training day not long after I picked her up, and got taught how to handle the MPS’s “differneces” and how to get the most out of a very freakish car!
Let me tell you, my face ached for a week from all the smiling I did that day! To chase down and catch the RX-8’s and MX-5’s on the day was just exhilerating!!
Not to mention all of the cool gear like Traction Control, ABS and all the other safety gear that pulls the reins in on this little pony when she decides to get a bit fiesty.
I think that this car will out-drive my abilities for quite a while to come.
Whilst the power in this car scares the crap out of me at times, I’m still considering what options I can do to boost the kw’s whilst keeping it within the limits for warranty etc. I’ve heard of a guy that is getting over 220kw’s from an exhaust and computer up-grade!
In the mean time, I am having the best fun driving my little “torque-steering monster” around the traps and look forward to the next time I can get her on a race-track!
You can keep your WRX’s and Evo’s!!!
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August 10th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
My story… I love my VZ SS. It’ll always be a found memory for me. But with fuel prices the way they are going, I had to change my view of the big V8. My mate loves his WRX. We’ve had a few ‘battles’ and in different challenges, each had their advantages. Although I’ve lost a few tight, off road battles overall I clearly think the big V8 was a winner in most situations. But do you think I’ll ever convince him? Nope!
Anyway, the time came. My budget is tighter, fuel prices are getting scarier. I wanted something cheaper, and cheaper to run but I didn’t want to lose much on performance. And the last thing I wanted to look at was a 6. I keep hearing about hot hatches and how far they had come. I didn’t believe, so i did some research. My research involved many weekends. They all put a smile on my face. The XR5, VXR and GTi, they were all super impressive. But, compared to my SS they just were not quite doing it for me. They all lacked in certain areas. The VXR felt unstable - suspension and torque steer issues. The GTi felt slow - it was just too friendly and has no hard edge to it. I’d recommend it to my girlfriend though. Being a Holden man, I resisted the XR5, but one drive and I was very impressed. It looks HOT, and it handles superbly. I felt so safe in it. But I wanted more power. I was about to settle on the XR5 when a work college said to test drive the MPS. Proves how naive I was. I just could not accept Mazda could produce a car with the performance I’d happy with. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after a test drive I brought it that day. It totally rocks. And let me warn you SS drivers out there - it’ll eat you up. It is totally sick. mad. insane. violent. I love it.
Mazda have done a lot of work in keeping this beast tame in 1st and second so that you don’t end up in another suburb accidentally, but in 3th, 4th and 5th it just keeps giving. But what I think I like most of all is it’s hard edge. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. You actually appreciate driving again.
I cant wait to have some new battles with my mate. I think he’ll finally start conceding some ground on his WRX stance. And, if you have not test drove one, do so. After that, you’ll have some respect.
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August 20th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Hey Ladz,
I have been reading with some interest the ongoing debate surrounding WRX/V8s vs MPS and RWD/AWD vs FWD. The one thing that seems evident is that the MPS divides performance car enthusiasts… you either love it or hate it.
I take delivery of my Metropolitan Grey 2008 3MPS in a week and can’t hardly wait. But if the truth be told I would have bought a WRX if the 2008 model hadn’t looked like such a pile of shite and it wasn’t slammed in every reveiw I read. Had I have been in the market for a turbo 4 18 months ago I reckon the subie might be parked in my driveway currently.
No regrets though as I took the MPS for a test drive with four adults on board and the AC up full blast and the thing still managed to pull like the power of piss and left me in no doubt as to the sheer power of this beast.
Viva la MPS !!
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